A heartwarming video of a forest department driver offering water to a family of cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh went viral, drawing mixed reactions from the public. While many saw it as a beautiful example of human-animal coexistence, it has resulted in trouble for the driver involved, Satyanarayan Gurjar. The Times of India reports that Gurjar has been suspended from his job following the viral video.
The Viral Video
Over the weekend, a video surfaced on social media showing a family of cheetahs resting under the shade of a tree. The footage showed Gurjar, a driver with the forest department, approaching the cheetahs cautiously, holding a jerrycan of water. As he reached a few feet from the animals, he stopped and poured water into a steel plate. “Come, come,” some off-camera voices encouraged, and the cheetahs quickly rose and drank from the plate.
The video was filmed in a village located near the Kuno National Park, where the cheetah family was spotted.
Public Response and Forest Department’s Concerns
While the video was widely shared and celebrated as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, the forest department expressed concerns over the encounter. Officers from Kuno Forest Division visited the location and, in response to the viral footage, decided to suspend Gurjar from his duties.
The forest department’s decision was based on the concern that such interactions might cause the cheetahs to become too comfortable with humans, which could increase the likelihood of the animals straying into residential areas. A forest department official emphasized, “We would not want them to get this close and develop any bond like this.”
The incident occurred just two weeks after villagers had reportedly thrown stones at a cheetah and her cubs, adding to the tension surrounding human-wildlife interactions in the region.
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