A young leopard which came inside a village probably in search for food in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, was anesthetized and captured by the Iranian Department of the Environment (DoE) in September 2008. The animal was trapped inside a coral which villagers informed game guards to rescue the small cub. The animal was then moved to Semeskandeh Wildlife Refuge for treatment of slight injuries cause during capturing in order to being recovered. Meanwhile, nothing is known about the mother and it is reported that the animal was alone. However, it is quite aggressive toward people and is kept inside a small cage at the moment. It is estimated that the animal has no more than 6 months.
Worthy to note, Darabad Museum of Wildlife and Nature is home to a large male Persian leopard since 2000 which was brought there as a cub whose mother poached. The animal seems healthy, but without mate and lives inside a modern and safe cage. During the past couple of years, much efforts have been made by the museum Darabad authorities to find a female for Rika (meaning boy), but without success. An adult female Persian leopard lives in Mashad Zoo, but communication between two facilities during the past few years has no outcome to cooperate. Presently, it seems that Rika has been lucky that near the end of his reproductive life, there is a chance for her to reproduce. Both of them (Rika and Kija, the small new cub meaning girl), are from the same origin and since the animal is supposed to not able to survive in the wild on her own, therefore, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) has proposed to launch the first breeding site for the endangered Persian leopard in Iran. However, the fate of offsprings should be discussed. At the moment, the ICS is facilitating interaction between the relevant governmental organizations in order to establish a mutual partnership between the DoE and Darabad to transfer Kija to the same plcae of Rika.
