Very recently a video of a captive cheetah has rapidly spread on the web, in which apparently the owner is talking with the animal in Farsi. The Iranian Cheetah Society is investigating the originality of the video and has tried to contact the video creator. It is not understood if the video is actually captured in Iran, or in one of the Persian Gulf countries where keeping exotic animals like cheetahs are common, and if the animal in this video is an Asiatic cheetah. It is not possible to draw any firm conclusion based on this video as Asiatic and African cheetahs are morphologically are almost look alike. The Iranian Cheetah Society encourages the public to contact us with any information about this video at: [email protected]
Asiatic Cheetah Conservation Program
Another exceptionally long movement of an Asiatic cheetah recorded in central Iran
Analysis of new camera-trap pictures captured in some cheetah reserves in Yazd province revealed astonishing results. Researchers from the Iranian Cheetah Society has identified a male cheetah that in late 2014 has travelled more than 215 km across South Khorasan and Yazd provinces!
The male cheetah first detected by a team from National Geographic in Naybandan Wildlife Refuge on December 7, 2011. The new photo is captured on December 1, 2014, in Dare Anjir Wildlife Refuge.
Long distance movements of the Asiatic cheetah has been documented previously. Researchers from the Society has documented such movements in central Iran in 2013 in a paper published at Oryx, the International Journal of Conservation. Using camera-trap data from surveys conducted between 2009 and 2013, ICS researchers identified an adult female cheetah who moved in multiple occasions approximately 150 km between two reserves in central Iran. Additionally, her cubs after becoming independent, ranged multiple reserves in the three consecutive year of the camera-trapping surveys.
Very little is known about the movement ecology and ranging behavior of the Asiatic cheetah. No information is yet available if this long-distance movement of Asiatic cheetahs are consequence of the recent anthropogenic pressures and habitat fragmentations or just natural consequences of the subspecies’ response to its habitat in Iran. Given the fact that cheetahs in Iran are not confined to the small and isolated habitats inside the protected areas and almost all these reserves are under anthropogenic pressure and are isolated by roads and human infrastructure, stress on a necessity to evaluate the cheetah’s ranging pattern and habitat requirements in Iran, and to identify biological corridors connecting the current habitats in the country.
The Iranian Cheetah Society is running the nation-wide cheetah monitoring project in cooperation with Iran Department of the Environment, Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, local wildlife authorities on the cheetah reserves.
The second phase of nation-wide cheetah monitoring continued in Naybandan Wildlife Refuge, South Khorasan province, in January 2015. In collaboration with the local wildlife authority, cameras were collected in May 2015. We have now started analyzing the photos and identifying the captured cheetahs. Preliminary results have confirmed that the male cheetah, who was photo-captured in 2013 and awarded the BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photo of the Year 2014, still occurs in the reserve. The Society’s camera traps have also captured a dozen of photos of sympatric carnivores with cheetahs.
Recent nation-wide camera trapping of cheetah reserves in Iran suggests a population decline in the southern habitats.
Houman Jowkar, the National Manager of Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), stated in an interview with the Iranian media that “the second phase of the cheetah monitoring project focuses on local community-based approaches for the sake of the species conservation.” Jowkar added that the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is running the national project for the cheetah population assessment in Iran.
While the last population assessment of the Iranian cheetahs was conducted in 2012, the current initiative has began from the southern reserve, with the Naybandan Wildlife Refuge, South Khorasan province, as the first reserve which has been surveyed in 2014. The camera-trapping survey will be continued in Bafq Protected Area, Darreh Anjir Wildlife Refuge, Siah Kuh National Park, and Ariz, all in Yazd province.
Jowkar noted that “current data suggests a population decline in the southern reserves, whereas a large population of cheetahs has been so far detected in the northern reserve, namely Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, North Khorasan province, and Touran National Park, Semnan province.” “The second phase of nation-wide population monitoring of cheetahs will allow us to compare the new data with those of older figures, so a more realistic picture of the current status of cheetahs in Iran can be drawn” Jowkar added.
Further, Navid Gholikhani, the ICS’ project leader provided more information about the project objectives and future plans. “Our goal is to survey all the cheetah reserves in Yazd province simultaneously” Gholikhani said. He added that “the former camera trap survey resulted in photo-capturing of 22 different cheetah individuals in the cheetah reserves, thus, combined with opportunistic observations and field reports, a population of 40-70 cheetahs will be our best guess for Iran.” However, the camera-trapping survey need to be optimized based on a systematic approach allowing more robust analysis of camera trap data. Gholikhani stated that besides the critical population data received from the national survey, “involving local wildlife authorities and warden in the cheetah monitoring project has helped to increase conservation actions on the ground, thus indirectly benefits the cheetah conservation efforts in the country”.
Iranian Cheetah Society participated in the cheetah workshop held in Ardakan, Yazd Province
Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) presented its 3-year-old nation-wide cheetah monitoring project in a workshop in Ardakan County, Yazd Province. Held jointly by Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Yazd Office of Iran Department of the Environment (DoE); together with ICS, Yazd DoE’s managers, deputies of Wildlife & Biodiversity Bureau of Iran DoE, Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF), local wildlife authorities, cheetah reserves’ wardens, and a local mining company participated in the one-day workshop.
The workshop aimed to gather local and national cheetah conservationists and decision makers in order to share the most up-to-date information about the status of the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah in Iran, and to form a participatory framework to discuss urgent actions required to save the species from extinction in its last stronghold on the Earth.
During the workshop, ICS experts presented their findings after three years of intensive camera-trapping in cheetah reserves across Yazd Province. A framework to more actively involve the local residents in cheetah conservation was also presented. Additionally, CACP managers and PWHF experts discussed results of their projects across the country and future approaches for cheetah conservation in Iran. The workshop participants discussed the obstacles to cheetah conservation in Iran, and agreed to continue such initiatives to boost efforts to save the highly threatened Asiatic cheetah.
The Country-wide Cheetah Monitoring Program Meets Naybdan Wildlife Refuge
Iranian Cheetah Soceity’s country-wide monitoring program for the Asiatic Cheetahs continues in a new site, Naybandan Wildlife Refuge.
The project team has just finished the intensive camera-trapping in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Iran, and now moves the camera traps to Naybandan, eastern Iran.
During the survey in Miandasht, four cheetah individuals were detected and many wildlife species were recorded. The survey in Naybandan is conducting with collaboration of South Khorasan Office of Iran DoE and Pars Wildlife Institute.
Naybandan Wildlife Refuge is the large reserve in Iran with an area of 14000 km2 . Iranian Cheetah Society has surveyed the reserve in 2013 and hopes that the new survey will result in a new estimation of cheetah population in the reserve.
ICS’s Cheetah Project Featured on IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group
Iranian Cheetah Society’s Cheetah Project Featured on IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.
The first phase of ICS’ “Status of Asiatic Cheetah in Iran: A Country-scale Assessment” featured as “The Project of the Month” on IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. ICS is doing a nation-wide population assessment of the Asiatic cheetahs across Iran using camera traps.
The first phase of the project has been conducted during 2011-2013. The project team has just launched the second phase of the camera-trapping surveys in selected cheetah reserves.
To read more about our cheetah project follow this link: http://catsg.org/index.php?id=575
During the last days of the first stage of National Cheetah monitoring project in Iran, some of the camera traps were left in the cheetah for general monitoring of target species.
In November, in the photos published by the Ardakan(Yazd) Environmental department three cheetahs were identified. In the first glance, these three cheetahs were identified as the same individuals observed in 2012, however with analyzing the spots and comparing the new photos with old ones by the ICS experts it was revealed that one of these cheetahs is new to the cameras.
Therefore, the number of cheetahs captured by camera traps in Asiatic cheetah habitat was increased by one new male cheetah.
The publication of the Cheetah’s Water Program’s report
After the public invitation done by the Iranian Cheetah Society for collecting charity money for means to improve the Miandasht’s protected area’s water supply, fortunately thanks to the financial help given by the kind citizens, a part of this area’s water supply has been repaired. Along with pure gratitude for these people, a report of the process is sent to registered members as an attached file.
During the Cheetah Conservation Program in Miandasht Wildlife refuge, multiple photos of different species have been taken around Koushki enclosure, which are very interesting.
The most considerable ones are two adult cheetahs that have been passing by the Koushki enclosure several times. Their skin patterns have shown that one of them is a new individual identified this summer for the first time and the other one is a locally born cub becoming of adult age. Other species are Hyena, Wolf, Fox, Rabbit and Deer. The third round of the Cheetah Conservation Program in Miandasht has been finished successfully by the ICS and Environmental Affair and 4 new individuals were identified.