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New Evidences of the Cheetah Increase Hopes for Its Survival in Iran

Naein, Feb 24, 2004- The central province of Isfahan, where once had a fairly high number of the Iranian cheetah in the country is now approved to hold a small population of the animals after almost 20 years without any verified report.

During the past 18 months, ICS has conducted a continuous survey in cooperation with the local DOE officers to approve the cheetah existence in desert habitats of Isfahan province with an area of more than 50,000 square kilometers. The target area consisted of vast expanses of plains and hilly terrains is just located between the selected cheetah reserves in the country where estimated to hold 50 cheetahs totally.

Several skins and stuffed animals were found during working with local people (picture above-left), indicating that the animals could survive in remote deserts with various prey species such as gazelle, wild sheep and wild goat to feed on.  Accordingly, after identifying hotspots where had the highest possibility of the cheetah occurrence, field surveys were conducted to get any new evidence. Finally, 5 fresh cheetah tracks were seen in 4 points since Nov 2002 till Jan 2004 (one accompanied with a cub - picture opposite), revealing that the animals are still in remote areas.

Due to various advantages, Naein area could be potentially considered as a reliable stronghold for the Iranian cheetahs. Human intervention is limited in the area to just a few mines and less than 10 human settlements, while small number of livestock grazing seasonally around Naein never threatens the area with habitat degradation.

To ensure the cheetah survival in the area, ICS is working with some local NGOs to participate in conserving the ecosystem mainly through enhancing public awareness around the area. Thus, a regional workshop is going to be held on Aug 2004 in the main city of Naein to train young volunteers with necessary skills and empower them to act with self-reliance. Since the area has not yet given legal protection, ICS is trying to raise funds in order to improve the conservational measurements. In July 2003, efforts in the area led to approve lynx existence in desert habitats of the area. ...Read full story