BHOPAL: Feeding water to cheetahs, getting too close to them, and filming the act has proven costly for two villagers who were hired by the forest department in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The duo — driver Satyanaran Gurjar and forest guard Uttam Rawat –have been suspended for breach of protocol and drawing undue spotlight.
“There are clear instructions and training provided to the monitoring team to maintain a safe distance from cheetahs, with only authorized personnel allowed to approach the animals for specific tasks. In this instance, the field staff violated these guidelines and acted in an undisciplined manner. To make matters worse, the act was filmed and shared widely on social media, violating established protocols and creating unnecessary public attention.” Said an official release.
On April 4, cheetah Jwala and its four cubs moved out of Kuno and into agricultural fields on the fringes of the national park in ‘Agra range’. They hunted half a dozen goats and rested under the shade of a tree near a village after finishing their meal.
As per protocol, the monitoring team has to guide the cheetahs back into the forest whenever such situations arise to avoid potential human-cheetah conflicts. Also, when cheetahs enter agricultural fields or approach human habitations, extra staff is called from the range.
This time, reinforcements from Agra range were deployed. However, the situation took a dramatic turn when the driver — a daily wager hired for duties of forest department in Agra range) — and forest guard Rawat went too close to the cheetahs, and offered them water in a steel bowl.
It made for a heart-warming moment, and the video broke the internet, but forest officers were far from pleased. The driver and guard were penalised for disregarding forest department rules and procedures.
