Ongoing monitoring program has revealed interesting images of multiple cases of wolf depredation on goitered gazelles’ fawns in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge. Gazelles breeding peaks in May when pregnant gazelles leave their herds to find a remote safe place to give birth. While their newborn fawn is able to follow the mom after birth, but they are kept hidden for the very first days and then they chase their mother. With respect to water scarcity within arid environments, the gazelles have to concentrate a high proportion of their daily activities around water sources which can increase their susceptibility to predators, including wolves.
Camera trap images in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge have shown three different events in which the wolves are seen with a young fawn body in their mouth. Nevertheless, it is also plausible that these gazelles have been scavenged, rather than predated. During
past decade, due to enhanced law enforcement in Miandasht, the gazelle population has been experiencing an increasing trend and more carnivore-ungulate interactions are now seen in the area.
Located not far from Turkmenistan border in northeastern Iran, Minadasht has been monitored since 2003 by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), North Khorasan Department of Environment and Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project to understand
population composition and trends of different carnivores, particularly the Asiatic cheetah.
