CURRENT AFFAIRS | MAY 13, 2026
Four month-old cheetah cubs born to KGP12 — a Botswana-imported female — were found dead at Kuno National Park (Madhya Pradesh) earlier this week. With this, India’s Project Cheetah — the world’s first inter-continental large-carnivore translocation — has now logged 13 deaths since 17 September 2022. Field officials report a sharp rise in lion populations near the den site, raising the spectre of predation. The Centre faces uncomfortable questions on viability, habitat carrying capacity and ecological cost.
For CLAT 2027, this story is a one-shot cluster of Environment + Polity + International Conventions. Lock in the framework below.
Constitutional & Legal Framework
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — Schedule I lists the cheetah, granting the highest legal protection. Hunting attracts imprisonment up to 7 years.
- Article 48A (DPSP) — State to protect and improve the environment, forests and wildlife (added by 42nd Amendment, 1976).
- Article 51A(g) — Fundamental Duty to protect and improve the natural environment, including wildlife.
- CITES Appendix I — cheetah listed; international commercial trade banned. India is a party since 1976.
- Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 — India ratified in 1994; informs the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Why It Matters for CLAT 2027
Expected angles in a CLAT comprehension passage:
- Conflict between in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies under the Wildlife Protection Act.
- Translocation jurisprudence — Centre for Environment Law v. Union of India (2013, SC), the “Asiatic lion” judgment that originally cleared Kuno as a lion site.
- DPSP-FD interplay — Articles 48A and 51A(g) as State duty and citizen duty.
- IUCN Red List + CITES + CBD as the international conservation triad.
Key Facts to Memorise
- Location: Kuno NP, Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh.
- Project launch: 17 September 2022 by PM Modi.
- Total cats translocated: 20 African cheetahs (Namibia + South Africa).
- Total deaths so far: 13 (including these 4 cubs of KGP12).
- IUCN status: Vulnerable (global) / Critically Endangered (Asiatic subspecies).
- CITES: Appendix I (ban on commercial international trade).
- Native cheetah extinct in India: declared 1952.
- Statutory steward: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under MoEFCC.
Mnemonic: KUNO — Why It Matters
Kuno NP, MP — ground zero for translocation.
Unique: world’s first inter-continental large-carnivore project.
Namibia + South Africa — source countries.
Overseen by NTCA + Wildlife Institute of India.
Backbone laws: WPA §Schedule I + Art 48A + Art 51A(g) + CITES App I + CBD 1992.
Sources: Indian Express p.9 (Anand Mohan J), 13 May 2026; PIB releases on Project Cheetah; NTCA monthly updates.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
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