Actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt blasted at villagers in MP who pelted stones at a female Namibian cheetah, Jwala, and her four cubs who escaped the Kuno National Park and entered the rural areas. Reacting to a viral video from the disturbing incident, she pointed out India shouldn't have brought the wildlife from Namibia, South Africa if they were to be attacked and treated this way.
Pooja Bhatt's full comment
Expressing her outrage over the attack in Sheopur district, she wrote, "THIS is why we should not be importing animals into the country. Namibian cheetahs belong in Namibia."
Bhatt shared her comments after the Instagram page Street Dogs Of Bombay posted the video from the incident online. The shocking visuals showed villagers throwing stones and waving sticks at the Jwala and her cubs, resulting in one of them pouncing on a calf.
Disturbing visuals
From Namibia to India
In 2022, eight Southeast African cheetahs—five females and three males, aged between four and six—were flown from Namibia and released into a quarantined enclosure at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Jwala is one of them.
More details
A recent report by news agency ANI stated that the mother cheetah and her cubs wandered beyond the park boundary and entered a village, leaving locals in fear. This was the first time such an incident had occurred. Reports noted that Jwala was spotted near Veerpur tehsil on Sunday evening, attempting to hunt a calf but was interrupted by villagers who chased her away using sticks.
Director of Cheetah Project, Uttam Sharma urged villagers to not run behind or attack the wildlife. He assured that cattle owner would be provided compensation if the cheetahs their animal to death.
17 cheetahs are reportedly roaming freely in Kuno National Park.
