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A Fresh Breath for the Iranian Cheetahs in Miandasht

Miandasht, April 30, 2004-  Numerous herds of livestock began their mandatory migration outward of reserve boundaries. Moreover, small herds of camels belonging to the surrounding local communities have been driven by game guards to the northern parts near their origin. 

 With a backbone of more than 25 years official conservation, Miandasht possess a rich diversity among its mammalian and avian species. However, due to lack of serious conservational efforts over the past decade, numerous herds of livestock occupied whole of the area, resulting in heavy range degradation (photo opposite) . Fortunately, the habitat has enhanced because of enforced protective efforts since 2002 in the area by the DOE game guards which as a consequence, the livestock might merely graze during the winter inside their licensed rangelands out of buffer zone, thus they have to leave the area to rehabilate in early spring. Accordingly, the wildlife species have found a worthy opportunity to recover their population, including the cheetah and its main prey species in the area as the Persian gazelle. It was more than 20 years since 1980 which no cheetah was reported from the area, but exceeding a dozen of verified reports since March 2002 indicate the potential capacity of the area. 

Recent surveys by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) have revealed a resident population, estimated to be at least 5 in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge (read full news). Miandasht Wildlife Refuge with an area of approximately 85000 ha is located near the city of Jajarm at north central Iran. The area is composed of steppe terrains and foothills where out of the 4 main prey species of the Iranian cheetah, only Persian gazelle exists (photo opposite).