Investigators probing the death of a 19-month-old cheetah at Kuno National Park have identified a traditional bharmar gun, a muzzle-loading firearm, as the suspected weapon used to shoot the animal and are examining possible links to hunting activity in the Morena-Sheopur region. The region had earlier seen a push to disarm the local population, but in vain, officials said, adding that local staff had failed to adequately monitor the cheetah.Five firearm pellets were recovered from the cheetah’s body during emergency surgery. Investigators said the probe found the pellets belong to the muzzle-loading firearm found in rural and forested parts of India.KNG22, a male cub born to cheetah Nirva, died at a veterinary facility in Jabalpur early on October 27, two days after it was found injured in the Morena Territorial Forest Division. A CT scan at Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University revealed damage to its internal organs, musculoskeletal system and nervous system.Veterinarians recovered five firearm pellets during emergency surgery, but the animal could not be saved.Lapses by local staffThe investigation also found lapses in monitoring by the territorial forest divisions in Morena. A source close to the investigation said, “There was a highly lackadaisical attitude among the local monitoring staff of Morena forest division. It’s a sensitive region where almost everyone has weapons, and incidents of sand mining and leopard poaching occur. The local staff failed to monitor the situation. The Kuno monitoring team, however, was near the cheetah, but could not hear gunshots when the incident took place and did not suspect anything amiss.”Also Read | High-level team to probe Kuno cheetah death due to firearm pellet injuriesThe cheetah cub was tracked by the monitoring team from Kuno, which comprised around four to five personnel. “It’s like a cat-and-mouse game; the cheetah is a highly elusive animal. We track the cheetah twice a day and send visual evidence. The satellite tracker was working at the time. The team made contact with the cheetah at 2 am and followed it until 4 am.”The cheetah cub then made its kill, which was one of the last known sightings of the cub. “The satellite tracker was still, which usually means the cheetah cub is resting after the meal. In the evening, we started to get alarmed when the cheetah did not move, so the team went on the lookout and found the cub bleeding heavily,” the official said.Story continues below this ad“At the time, the team suspected the cub may have been attacked by another animal. That changed when the pellets were recovered. The suspected weapon is a bharmar, a muzzle-loading firearm, based on the pellets recovered from the cub’s body. This type of weapon is used by local tribes for hunting in the region,” the official said.Firearms remain rampantThe government had proposed a firearms recovery programme in the region following reports of locals hunting animals there. A senior Kuno wildlife official said, “This was proposed right at the inception of the Kuno project and even recently.” But apart from local community outreach, nothing else could be done. The locals hide their weapons and deny having them in their disclosures to local police. When the project began, around 21 of the 41 villages in the Kuno region reported owning firearms.Also Read | In first such cheetah killing in country, officials indicate Kuno cub was shot; pellets recoveredOfficials had also compiled information on suspected hunters, including their names and addresses, while villagers were brought into the intelligence network, with assurances that their identities would be protected. The wider Morena district has a substantial licensed-firearm population, with a reported 25,000 people owning firearms, police said.Following the cub’s death, Kuno officials are now looking at a comprehensive security overhaul. “We are going to work on this aspect, and everything will change from now on. The Morena region also has fewer Cheetah Mitras as compared to other regions, and we will start by bolstering those numbers. The region has two other cheetahs, and their security has been increased. One of them is the sister of the slain cub,” said a senior wildlife official.