Question 1- What is the news of the birth of 5 cheetah cubs in Kuno National Park?
answer- Indian origin female cheetah ‘Mukhi’ has given birth to five healthy cubs in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. Mukhi is the daughter of ‘Siaya’, a cheetah brought from Namibia, who is the only one to survive among the four cubs born in India. This achievement is being considered a historic success for India’s ‘Cheetah Reintroduction Programme’. Mother and cub are completely healthy.
This is the first time that a female cheetah born in India has successfully reproduced on the country’s soil. About 33 months old Mukhi has now become the first female of ‘Project Cheetah’, who has strengthened the success of conservation efforts by giving birth to five cubs.
According to Kuno National Park officials, this is the third generation of cubs born on Indian soil, which will help them adjust better to the Indian environment, as they are adapting to the climate here since birth. Their natural birth here is an increase in the success of the Cheetah Project.
According to experts, this successful breeding is a sign that cheetahs are rapidly adapting to Indian habitats. Their health and behavior have been found to be satisfactory under natural conditions. This will strengthen the country’s long-term conservation goals and strengthen India’s global image in the field of wildlife conservation.
Question 2- On the other hand, how has the leopard put a leash of terror around the neck of the people in Maharashtra?
answer- Leopard made 3 major attacks in Maharashtra in last 40 days…
- 12 October 2025: In Shirur, 5 year old Shivanya Shailesh was attacked by a leopard and died. This attack happened in the daytime, when the girl was playing outside.
- 22 October 2025: In Shirur, 82 year old woman Bhagubai Ranganath Jadhav was attacked by a leopard and died. This attack also happened near the house during the day.
- 2 November 2025: 13 year old Rohan Vilas Bombay was attacked and killed by a leopard in Pimparkhed village of Shirur.
After the third attack, people’s anger erupted and the Pune-Nashik highway was blocked for 18 hours. Protests increased and demands were made to kill the leopard.
On November 4, 2025, at around 10:30 pm, the Forest Department team conducted an operation near Pimparkheda and encountered a leopard. The body was shown to the villagers and sent to Manikdoh Rescue Center for post-mortem.
Apart from this, in November itself, another male leopard got trapped in the cage and was relocated. But the terror of leopard does not stop here. Because it is not a matter of one or two leopards. Many leopards are hunting in the villages here. The atmosphere of fear in Pimparkheda is so high that people have started wearing iron bands with nails around their necks. Actually, leopards attack the neck, hence this step of the villagers who are forced to go to the fields for farming shows their deep fear.
The Fadnavis government of Maharashtra is considering declaring the leopard attack as a ‘state disaster’. That means, after this, leopard sterilization campaign will be conducted and rescue centers will be established. There will be increased patrolling in sensitive areas and surveillance through drones.
Question 3- Why are 500 villages of Uttarakhand in fear of Guldar-Tiger?
answer- The conflict between wildlife and humans is increasing in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand. Now more than 500 villages are living in fear. The village situated on the edge of the forest is frequented by wild animals including leopards, tigers, bears and elephants and there is a daily fear of attack. Farms, barns, roads and even the thresholds of houses are no longer safe.
On November 19, 65-year-old Ginni Devi, who had gone to cut grass in Koti village of Pauri district of Uttarakhand, was attacked and killed by gangsters. She had gone to cut grass just 300 meters away from her house at 4 pm. This incident spread panic in the entire area. The administration has intensified the search for Guldar by installing a cage.
The matter is not limited to just Guldar. At present bears are creating terror in the Garhwal region. On November 17, a bear attacked and seriously injured 40-year-old Lakshmi Devi in Bironkhal block of Pauri Garhwal. Lakshmi Devi had gone to cut grass with 3-4 women. Lakshmi’s face was drenched in blood.
On November 13, a tiger attacked and killed Rani Devi, a resident of Bagdigad, in Chaubattakhal area. The next day, Prabha Devi of Ghandiyal village was attacked and injured. After this the administration issued instructions to kill the man-eating tiger. Shooters have been deployed for the tiger.
The forest department says that the biggest threat in these sensitive villages is from guldar and tiger. Working in the fields during the day and going out of the house in the evening can be risky. Apart from this, elephants are also vandalizing vehicles on the roads.
Question 4- Why is the terror of wild animals increasing in residential areas?
answer- In the last 5-10 years in India, animals like leopards, tigers, elephants and bears have started entering and attacking residential areas. This has become a daily problem in states like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Karnataka. This is happening not just because of the abundance of animals, but because of the conflict between humans and the forest…
1. Rapid shrinkage and fragmentation of forests
- Thousands of hectares of forest are being cut every year in India, where roads, railways, dams, mining, farming and cities are being built.
- ‘Corridors’ are being created for animals in the forests themselves, i.e. paths for animals to move. Due to this, animals wander and reach villages and cities.
- In Uttarakhand, forests were cut due to Chardham All Weather Road and Rail Project, due to which elephants and leopards came out and entered the residential areas.
2. Dense sugarcane fields ‘perfect hideout’ for animals
- The dense sugarcane fields in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand (Terai), Maharashtra and Karnataka are the best hiding places for leopards.
- Water, shade and prey (dogs, goats) are easily available in sugarcane.
- During the harvest season, between October and March, leopards come out and attack.
- This is the biggest reason for leopard attacks in Junnar-Shirur, Maharashtra.
3. Human settlements spread deep into the forest
- Villages were settled on the edge of the forest and farming reached the forest.
- People go to the forest to collect wood, grass and leaves for making liquor, which leads to direct conflict.
- In hilly states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, villages are lying vacant due to migration. The henchmen come and hide in these houses.
4. Lack of prey and easy prey
- Natural prey like deer and sambar have reduced in the forest. At the same time, dogs, goats, cows and buffaloes are easily available in villages.
- Once an attack on a human is successful, the animal becomes a ‘man eater'” and hunts again and again.
Apart from this, their number has increased due to the protection of animals. The forests being cut are becoming smaller, due to which the space for animals is getting limited. Because of this, wild animals move towards residential areas. In the forests, these animals used to fill their stomach only by hunting small animals, but after coming to the village, they eat human blood. Then this sequence continues.
Question 5- So is wildlife management being taken out of the hands of the government and administration in favor of the leopards?
answer- Experts say, ‘For the happiness of cheetahs, wildlife management is not completely out of the hands of the government and administration, but it is clearly visible that Project Cheetah is getting all the energy, budget and media attention of the government and the forest department. Whereas the same speed and resources are not visible in managing everyday human-wildlife conflicts. This is a kind of priority imbalance, not a complete loss of control.
The 2023-2024 report of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) says that on an average, more than 500 people are killed every year in India due to human-wildlife conflict and this number is increasing. But there is no separate ‘Project Leopard’ or ‘Project Human-Wildlife Conflict Management’ running with the same resources and political will. The Center has separately given crores of rupees for Project Cheetah, whereas the Maharashtra government has just decided to give Rs 11.25 crore and 1000 additional cages for leopard management, which is very less.
According to experts, this difference is also visible because the Cheetah Project is ‘glamorous’. This makes India the ‘first country in the world to reintroduce the cheetah’ and receives international media coverage. At the same time, Guldar attacks are considered a ‘local problem’, which is left to the state governments. The result is that while the birth of a cheetah cub is reported to the whole country, there is not that much noise at the national level even after the death of three children in a village in Maharashtra.