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3 Cheetah Cubs Burned by A Local Herder in Bafq

Bafq, June 2003 – 3 cheetah cubs were burned by a local herder in Sheytour Plain inside Bafq Protected Area, Yazd Province.

While returning to his rangeland at night from the Sheytour village at the eastern border of the area, Akbar Nazvari, a local herder saw 3 pairs of bright eyes in the light of her motorbike. Once approached, he encountered a mother with 3 small cubs supposed to be wolves, which could threaten its livestock. Therefore he rode toward them, the mother run away and her cubs hided in a fox borrow at the wall of a dried riverbed. Ahmad gathered some bushes on both entrances and make a fire. The cubs had no option other than getting out, attacked by the herder and all killed (black burned soil at the both entrances of the borrow - bottom picture). 2 days later, Akbar, the guilty in charge was arrested by game guards and was given to the judge. Now he is in prison for a duration of 1 year.
10 years ago, in a same event, 1 mother with 3 young cheetahs came to suburb of Bafq to drink some water, but were seized by local people, the mother escaped, 2 cubs killed and the third captured now living in Pardisan Eco-Park, Tehran, called Marita. Bafq has been the main pilot for local education activities measured by Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) since October 2002.