About Us

Background  

Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is an Iranian, independent, non-profit NGO established in Aug 2001 in order to save the last remains of the Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus just living in Iran. As a result of several year investigations, it was concluded that the not only the cheetah, but large carnivores are in conflict with local people, therefore, it is necessary to have a broader point of view on the large carnivores, including the critically endangered cheetah as the flagship species. Therefore, we defined our target species as “The Iranian Five Big Carnivores” which are supposed to have a gloomy future, including Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor, grey wolf Canis lupus, striped hyena Hyeana hyeana and finaly, the brown bear Ursus arctos.

ICS was founded by three enthusiast youths, Mohammad Farhadinia (director), Kaveh Hatami and Morteza Eslami who all had worked since 1997 on the cheetah personally. It is based in Tehran with members from all around the country. Presently, more than 20 people are working as ICS staffs or volunteers with various skills, all interested to do something for the five large carnivores to ensure their survival. 

Missions

·   Investigation to find more on the ecology and status of five large carnivores through an ecosystem-based approach;

·   Public awareness about the Iranian Large Carnivores and their associated biota through education mainly at the local communities;

·   Reducing human-large carnivores conflicts via implementing socio-economic plans;

·   Conserving the large carnivores in their natural habitats, particularly through public participation.

Due to lack of wildlife science on the Iranian species, particularly the Five Big, ICS has focused a remarkable part of its activities on field investigations in order to apply its results to public awareness campaign among local communities. Accordingly, local applicable solutions are developed to reduce human-carnivore conflicts. Meanwhile, juveniles and youths are the main educational targets, particularly at local communities and should be satisfied to co-exist with them. More information on ICS activities is available on www.iraniancheetah.org.

ICS Structure

The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is composed of 2 interactive sections:

1. Education and Public Relations

Working to increase the awareness about the cheetahs and other large carnivores as well as reporting the society’s activities and efforts with the following teams:

School workshops, Local educational campaigns, Website, Cheetah letter (ICS official newsletter), Educational journals and media, Members & Volunteers, and Festivals.

2. Research Section

Trying to develop scientific base of knowledge about the Iranian large carnivores through field investigations with a ecosystem-based approaches rather than species-based.