India’s wild cheetah population stands at around 60, including some 40 Indian-born cheetahs. (EPA Images pic)NEW DELHI: India has vowed "swift action" after a cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began reintroducing the animals in 2022, the government said Wednesday.
The environment ministry said it had ordered a "high-level team for an on-ground investigation" into the shooting of the 19-month-old male, treating the incident with "utmost gravity".
The India-born cheetah - whose mother was among those introduced to India from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa as part of efforts to restore the planet's fastest land animal - was shot as it prowled in forests outside a protected national park.
