Cheetah trekked 130km from Kuno, rescued

JAIPUR: A female cheetah named Jawala from Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park , which crossed the border and reached Rajasthan, was rescued on Tuesday by the MP forest department with assistance from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR) staff. Jawala trekked nearly 130km from Kuno to reach Karira village in Rajasthan's Karauli district.

A forest officer said, "Teams deployed here monitored her movement closely before carrying out a safe capture operation to prevent any conflict with residents."

According to the forest department, Jawala has a radio collar around her neck. On Sunday, she was spotted in the Manpur area of Sheopur district in MP with a cub. By Monday, she separated from her cub and reached Baler village in Rajasthan via the Chambal riverbank.

Around 6am on Tuesday, villagers in Baler discovered the cheetah inside a goat enclosure and alerted the RTR team. Naresh Godara and his team from the Baler range attempted a rescue but could not succeed because of her aggressive behaviour. RTR officers then informed Kuno authorities.

A Kuno team reached the village around 10am, began the rescue at 11am, and captured Jawala within 15 minutes before taking her back to Kuno.