Project Cheetah: In viral video, man pours vulnerable big cats a dish of water

A video showing a man offering water to cheetahs, purportedly in a village near Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, surfaced on social media on Saturday, 5 April.

The park authorities, however, did not confirm the video’s authenticity and said they would look into the matter.

Offering water or milk to #cheetahs by villagers is not a good sign for #wildlife conservation. This may lead to dangerous consequences. As usual, the forest is undisturbed.@CMMadhyaPradesh @ntca_india @PMOIndia @KunoNationalPrk @Collectorsheop1 pic.twitter.com/3iIIYbd8Kn

— ajay dubey (@Ajaydubey9) April 5, 2025

In the clip of about 40 seconds, a man is seen pouring water from a can into a pan, following which five cheetahs sitting in the shade in the vicinity walk up to the utensil and start drinking the water.

The man initially appears hesitant to venture close to the cheetahs, but those behind him, including the person shooting the video, urge him to let the big cats drink the water.

The man then pours water into a pan and sits on his hunches near the cheetahs for some time.

When asked about the viral video, Cheetah Project director Uttam Kumar Sharma said he was not aware of the visual.

“We are not confirming the video, but we will collect information about it,” Sharma said.

A sight for sore eyes, a beautiful mother cheetah and her four cubs visiting a water hole

Video credit Megan Vass pic.twitter.com/6FirLa07T4

— Christina (@CWitvrouwen) November 27, 2024

Earlier on Friday, 4 April, another video showing cheetahs eating their prey had surfaced on social media.

Sources said both videos were shot near Umarikala village.

Last month, several clips shared on social media showed a female cheetah and her four cubs near human settlements and at an under-construction railway bridge in Virpur tehsil.

At present, 17 cheetahs, including 11 cubs born on Indian soil, are roaming in the wild at KNP, while nine are in enclosures.

Eight Namibian cheetahs, five females and three males, were released in KNP on 17 September 2022, marking the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the big cats.

In February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to the sanctuary.

The protected forest now has 26 cheetahs, including 14 India-born cubs.