National Cheetah Day celebration was held on fourth consecutive year on 16 and 17 September in Tehran Zoo. Organized by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), the festival was attended by various Iranian groups, such as NGOs, eco-tour communities, press representatives and university groups. It was supported by Iran Khordo Company, Sahlan Co. as well as with close cooperation of the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Tehran Zoo.
The ICS arranged a variety of educational programs for visitors, such matches, drawing, etc. Cheetah Theater was among special events during the two-day festival. Visitors were presented information about research programs on Iranian carnivores, particularly the Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard and Cheetah Radio announced latest news about the elusive animal in the zoo.
On 31 August 1994, a family of Iranian cheetahs was attacked by a number of people near Bafq Protected Area, central Iran. The mother run away, two cubs were killed, but the last cub was saved and lived in Pardisan Zoo, Tehran until 2003. She, namely Marita, was the only captive Iranian cheetah in the world and was a symbol for lack of awareness among local people in Iran which has been always considered as one of the main initiatives for the Iranian Cheetah Society since establishment in 2001.
Since 2007, the Cheetah Day has been celebrated by various Iranian NGOs and the Iranian Department of the Environment (DoE)’s Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project in which numerous educational programs were held inside the main cities as well as local communities around the cheetah habitat. Due to coincidence of the cheetah day and Ramadan, it was celebrated in September 2010.
