Cheetah Oban strolls out of Kuno National Park, once again

BHOPAL: Cheetah Oban is getting a new nickname – ‘ghumakkad’ (the wanderer). It slipped out of Kuno National Park for a second time, and was spotted 15km away on Sunday morning.
Barely 10 days ago, it was tranquilised and brought back to Kuno after a five-day hike in nearby farms and villages. This time, it has ventured much further. Forest officials say they will not tranquilise it this time as it could be very stressful and affect its health.

Officials from the forest department have stated that they will not tranquilize Oban for the time being, as repeated tranquilization can be stressful for the animal and can affect its health.
Interestingly, the Namibian native seems to prefer waterlogged fields and river valleys over dense forests, say foresters. He was spotted in these areas frequently over the last 5-6 days, sometimes sitting in the cool patches of the river valleys or under the shade of trees, before deciding to go exploring beyond the protected area on Saturday night. Oban covered 10km in the night and 5km more in the day and has been located near a village.