Kuno field staff face disciplinary action for offering water to cheetahs
The field staff of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh who offered water to five cheetahs near a village in Sheopur district faced disciplinary action ‘for violating (official) instructions
Bhopal: The field staff of the The field staff of the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh who offered water to five cheetahs near a village in Sheopur district faced disciplinary action ‘for violating (official) instructions(KNP) in Madhya Pradesh who stole the limelight in the media for offering water to five cheetahs near a village in Sheopur district in the state faced disciplinary action ‘for violating (official) instructions’, a forest officer said on Monday.
A video showing the field staff offering water in a steel bowl to female cheetah Jwala and her four cubs who were taking rest under a tree near a village falling under the Agra Forest Range after straying from the Kuno National Park on April four went viral on social media, landing the authorities concern in an awkward situation.
The video clip has also generated curiosity among the wildlife lovers regarding the behaviour of the cheetahs of Kuno National Park.
This has led the authorities of Kuno National Park to issue a clarification on the incident.
A press release issued by field director of Kuno National Park Uttam Kumar Sharma said, “In reference to a video circulating in the media where a person is seen giving water to cheetah Jwala and her 4 cubs, the details of the incident is as follows:”
The release has clarified that on the morning of April four, cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were moving in the agriculture fields close to human habitation near the boundary of Kuno National Park in Agra range.
The cheetah monitoring team, in general, has been instructed to try to deviate or lure cheetah back inside forest whenever such a situation arises so as not to create human-cheetah conflict.
Also, whenever cheetah goes into the agriculture fields or close to human habitation, additional staff is called from the concerned range.
In this case also, additional staff from range Agra was called on.
Cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were continuously moving in the open agriculture fields in the day and going away from the forest boundary towards human habitations.
To lure them back towards the forest, water was offered to all (Jwala and her four cubs).
One of the field staff, a daily wager engaged as a driver, gave water in a steel bowl to the five cheetahs.
There are clear instructions to the field staff to move away from cheetahs after setting up and training has been imparted to the monitoring team to handle cheetahs in close proximity.
Only authorized persons can go in close proximity to cheetahs with a specific task to perform, the press release said.
“In this incident, the field staff violated the instructions and have shown indiscipline. Further, video was made and shared in the media disregarding every discipline and instructions in this regard”, Mr. Sharma said.
Action is being taken against the concerned staff, the release said.
