The Eurasian lynx has a broad distribution range from Scandinavia in west to China and Russian Far East. The knowledge of the species’ biology and conservation status in southwestern Asia is very limited. In Iran, the only available information about the status of the Eurasian lynx is a preliminary assessment of the Iranian Cheetah Society researchers published in IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group’s Newsletter, Cat News, in 2010. This study suggests that the species should be considered as “Vulnerable” in Iran.
The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) started the first lynx survey in Anguran Wildlife Refuge in Zanjan, northwestern Iran, to form a baseline for future conservation monitoring of the Eurasian lynx in Iran. From fall 2009 through spring 2011, ICS researchers used a combination of extensive camera-trapping, questionnaire surveys, and lynx-prey relationships to assess the status of the Eurasian lynx in this perceived key habitat for the species in northwestern Iran. Results of this study have been recently published in Farsi in Iran’s Journal of Animal Environment.