Overview

• Jwala separated from her cub and trekked roughly 100–180 km from Kuno National Park into Sawai Madhopur’s Kareera Kalan village before preying on local livestock and drawing onlookers.
• Rescue teams used her radio collar and security cameras to locate her, then successfully sedated and transported her back to Kuno on August 12 without any human injuries.
• Officials say this marks the first confirmed inter-state movement since the MP–Rajasthan cheetah corridor was formalized in May, putting its connectivity to the test.
• The episode highlights emerging challenges such as livestock predation risk, managing large crowds and coordinating Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan forest and police personnel.
• With Kuno’s cheetah population now in the mid-20s, authorities are sharpening rescue protocols and expanding surveillance as the reintroduction effort scales up.