Finally,
A fantastic image of one of the Persian leopards recently photo-trapped in Bafq Protected Area was published as cover photo in IUCN
It is years that snare traps are removing the wildlife in northern Iran, particularly the Persian leopard. They are mainly deployed to control wild boar which harms rice farmlands. Therefore, people try to compensate high level of conflict with boars through arming their farmlands with snare traps, because they are mainly dependent to crops for their life. However, since the traps are working non-selectively, other animals are also vulnerable to be snared.
Recently, a young female leopard was killed in a snare trap around Mousha village in Dorfak Protected Area, northern Iran. The trap was not aimed for the leopard, but the abundant boars invading the rice farmlands during nighttime. Moreover, there was a rumor telling that the leopard
After more than two decades of disappearance, the Asiatic cheetah was again spotted in Khosh Yeilagh Wildlife Refuge, the most well-known cheetah site in Iran during 1970s. In late spring 2011, two cheetahs were filmed in the area by the local game wardens. Accordingly, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) focused its educational plans on marginal villages around the area to spread the cheetah knowledge among local people. Recently, our educational team performed two consecutive theaters for locals in Jilan and Khij villages where the cheetahs were sighted in nearby. In the meantime, the people received tremendous information about the area and the cheetah from game wardens.
With respect to its popularity and simple word for transferring conservation sciences, the ICS
Oryx, the international journal of conservation featured ICS
A training workshop was held in the city of Arak, west central Iran to enhance professional knowledge among game wardens and experts. Attended by around 30 people from various reserves of the region, the workshop was organized by Markazi Provincial Office of Environment and the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS). Ecology of leopard was the main topic covered in the workshop. Meanwhile, tracking and quick survey methods were also presented by the ICS trainer. Sharing scientific information and methodologies with game wardens and experts has been a main field of effort since late 2009 by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) to enhance capacity of the Iranian community for effective conservation of the wildlife.
Iran
Our recent camera trapping results indicated two different families in central Iran which they have been featured on online magazine Wildlife Extra.
Leopard cubs caught on photo trap in Iran
Today, as many as 500 Persian leopards are believed by experts to exist across Iran, and recently, scientists from the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in partnership with Yazd Department of Environment and Panthera has been monitoring the creature
In order to monitor population of elusive cat species, the largest camera trapping project has been implementing in central Iran since December 2011. Simultaneously, Bafq Protected Area, Ariz No Hunting Area, Dare Anjir Wildlife Refuge and Siahkouh Protected Area and National Park are hosting nearly 100 camera traps for more than three months which is a unique trial comparing to previous efforts to monitor cat populations in the country. The project has been jointly implemented by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) and Yazd Office of Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) with financial and logistical support from CACP, Panthera, Conservation des Especes et des Populations Animales (CEPA) and Prins Bernhard Natuurfonds (PBNF) through Stichting SPOTS.
During the monitoring program, almost 8000 square kilometer of central desert biome of the country have been monitored to find evidence of rare species, particularly critically endangered Asiatic cheetah and endangered Persian leopard which both exist across fragile desert areas of Iran. The method has been approved as promising to monitor spotted cats, but it has been rarely applied for these species in Iran in a systematic approach, especially the Asiatic cheetah. Accordingly, after training workshops for local game wardens and experts, different brands of camera traps were deployed to suitable locations to capture various animals, including iconic cats.
Results of this survey will indicate how conservation efforts have affected cheetah survival in the country and will give the first reliable population estimate across multiple reserves in Iran. Also, the present snapshot will provide a scientific glimpse into rich mammalian diversity of desert ecosystems of central Iran. The camera traps will be picked up in late March to analyze their data and results will be presented to decision-makers.
