International Cheetah Day
Today is International Cheetah Day and people around the world are spreading the word about this lovely species.
With less than 40 Asiatic Cheetahs left in the world, they are critically endangered subspecies. This year you can support us by donating to our JustGiving page and help us hire an additional ranger in Asiatic Cheetah habitats.
Rangers of Touran National Park captured this footage from a Cheetah family in Touran Biosphere Reserve yesterday. This family was recorded previously and is known as the “Talkhab Family”.
After recording a family of three, including a mother and two cubs, earlier this summer, cameras installed in Touran National Park (Part of Touran Biosphere Reserve) captured another family of three in the early fall. The mother of this new family is known as “Harb“, who was able to raise her three cubs last year. The cubs separated from this eight-year-old mother when they became adults, and Harb was able to give birth to two cubs this year as well. Cubs appear to be healthy in the pictures. All the captured images are the result of cooperation between the Iranian Cheetah Society and the Department of Environment of Semnan Province.
The record of two families of Asiatic Cheetah in Touran raises the hope of preserving the few remaining populations of this valuable species.
Asiatic Cheetah Cub
The following report contains the progress report of activities and projects accomplished by the Iranian Cheetah Society in 2019-2020. It also covers the activities that were undertaken in early 2021. In the end, you will be informed about our goals for 2021.
Our great gratitude to all of our friends, sponsors, and donors from all around the world who made our mission possible with their support.
Since 2016, with the decline in the Asiatic Cheetah population, the ICS tried to cancel most of its projects dealing with other carnivores and dedicated its human and financial resources to save the Asiatic cheetah.
Unfortunately, similar to previous years, the camera traps and reports from the rangers and local people showed decreasing signs of the presence of the Asiatic cheetah in 2018. As a result, the ICS got more active in ex-situ conservation. In a situation where the in situ conservation activities have been inefficient for the last 20 years, the need to follow up on the captive breeding project in parallel is the only way to save the last individuals of this species.
In 2019 and 2020, the ICS was successful in adding this type of conservation to its previous habitat activities., With the help of its South African partners, the ICS tried to be a facilitator and not an administrator of the ex-situ project. Equipment and scientific consultancy concerning captive breeding in semi-natural habitats based on South African experiences, was provided to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A project which faced many scientific, technical, and executive difficulties.
In this report, you will not only get familiar with 2019 and 2020 ICS activities for cheetah habitat conservation but you will also be informed about the role the ICS played as a facilitator and consultant for the captive breeding project.
ICS considers these past two years as its most successful ones since its establishment. A year in which, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, economical turbulences, and the daily increase of US sanctions, the ICS experienced activity growth. This year, the ICS`s first goal was to focus on activities that directly led to cheetah conservation.
Last but not least, the ICS wants to thank the national and international sponsors who helped us with conservation activities. Also, we are thankful for the executive team, experts, and our volunteers, because without them, we couldn’t do what we do. You can see the list of sponsors at the end of the report.
-Morteza Pourmirzai
CEO
ICS and Qazvin’s DOE had signed an agreement in order to study the conflicts between humans and wildlife in the Tarom Sofla area. Identifying solutions and also propose management methods to decrease these conflicts are the aims of this agreement.
Interview with local people
Due to the pandemic of Covid-19 and its limitations, the Explorers of Hope team was not able to travel in the past months, and their major activities were focused on collecting information from long distances. Finally, they traveled to Joghatay country in cooperation with the Department of Environment of Khorasan province on 28 and 29 July 2021.
20
Explorers of Hope team surveyed between Miandasht Wildlife Refuge and Touran Biosphere Reserve to recognize the probable crossing corridor of Cheetah with the accompany of the head of Joghatay’s DOE. For this purpose, they interviewed local people such as farmers, ranchers, and shepherds who are in the rangeland of the area.
In the continuation of surveying, the team visited the probable areas of Cheetah presence reported by the locals and the area’s water sources. The data shows the conclusion that recognizing the potential crossing corridor of cheetahs requires more investigations in northern villages in the Semnan province and the Abass Abad region.
The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), supported by IUCN Netherlands, succeeded in evacuating livestock in 5,600 hectares of rangeland on the edge of Touran National Park. This intervention soon paid off; these photos are the first pictures of the Asiatic Cheetah’s presence in this area! Unfortunately, even though the 5,600 hectares are located in a vital part of the cheetah’s habitat in Iran, no cheetah pictures were available from this area.
[irp posts=”22791″ name=”The starting of nationwide population monitoring the Asiatic Cheetah”]
Livestock evacuation from the rangelands in this area became a priority action for ICS and the Iranian Department of the Environment (DOE) in this region to protect the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah from extinction. ICS estimates that less than 30 Asiatic Cheetahs remain in the wild, all of them in Iran. ICS managed to revoke the grazing permits and installed the camera traps in this area to ensure the presence of this valuable species.
Annually, almost 80.000 livestock in more than 120 herds with 300 dogs are allowed to roam across the Touran Biosphere Reserve. However, due to drought in recent years, herds occupy the most suitable pastures and proper habitats. This makes the ungulates and their predators move to less-preferred areas during harsh winters. Besides, the wildlife is also directly affected because of many herd dogs within the area, as well as cryptic poaching efforts by herders. Poachers also find more opportunities during grazing seasons because they can pretend they are herders looking for their livestock or trying to find proper vegetation for their animals.
In fact, due to the presence of livestock higher than this arid area’s capacity, Touran Biosphere Reserve provides risky winters for the wildlife, both due to drawbacks in proper grazing habitats for the wildlife as well as much more susceptibility to the poachers due to the presence of many people inside the area.
Accordingly, several Asiatic Cheetahs have been caught/killed by people/herd dogs in recent years during their presence with their domestic animals. Also, overgrazing threatens Asiatic Cheetah’s prey with limited food resources and makes them go to higher elevations because their habitat is occupied by livestock.
These recorded photos are the first pictures of the cheetah’s presence in this area. According to the identification database, they belong to identified cheetahs with the names of Telma and Fegheh. Thus, the recorded presence of these two cheetahs in the new area is now undeniable, which is a fascinating reward for the hard work of our field team.
Currently, ICS monitors all critical Asiatic Cheetah spots in Touran Biosphere Reserve using camera traps in cooperation with the Iranian DOE.
[irp posts=”22522″ name=”Creating a Livestock-Free Wildlife Refuge to Safeguard the Critically Endangered Asiatic Cheetah”]
Recently, camera traps recorded a family of three consisting of a mother and two cubs at several points in Turan National Park. The family was spotted by rangers three months ago, and new photos show the well-being of both cubs during this time. The mother of these cubs is named “Mother of Talkhab”*, a powerful cheetah who successfully raised three of her cubs in recent years. It should be noted that camera traps have also recorded other cheetahs during this period, and the result of their identification will be announced later.
Camera traps recorded these promising images in the Annual Asiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program. This year, we simultaneously assess the status of the Asiatic Cheetah population in Turan Biosphere Reserve and Miandasht Wildlife Refuge. This study will continue until mid-autumn this year. We hope to identify more families in the area by then.
The year 2021 is a significant year for monitoring the situation of the Asiatic Cheetah in Iran. Touran Biosphere Reserve is already known as the only habitat for breeding Cheetah habitat in Iran. Although there have not been recorded any cheetah in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge since 2019, there is evidence of moving cheetahs from Touran toward adjacent habitat. Therefore, one of the most important actions includes recording whatever is happening in the present situation of the cheetah in Iran then take immediate and proposed steps accordingly.
Last year, besides monitoring Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, camera traps were installed in some areas of Touran Biosphere Reserves. According to the significant role of Touran in the free-ranging cheetah’s fate in the habitat, installing camera traps will be done more widespread this year. The monitoring will also be done in Miandasht to avoid ignoring the study of the second cheetah’s active habitat and record the probable return of the cheetah to the area.
The installation of camera traps has been begun in June 2021 and will continue according to the priorities area. The ICS team does all these processes, including installation and checking in cooperation with the area’s professional rangers and provincial administrations. The results of this project will be published accordingly.
Rangers installing cameratrap
On the 12th of May,2021 the authorities announced the discovery of an Asiatic cheetah carcass around Maimi city.
The carcass, which included the end of the body of a female cheetah, was found by a local rancher. According to the Department of Environment of Semnan Province, the cause of death is still unknown and a long time has passed since it.
Postal Address: P.O.Box 14155-8549, Tehran, Iran
Office: Unit 2, Number 3, Jomhouri Ave, Tehran, Tehran Province
Whatsapp: +98 (935) 2450054
Email:
info[at]wildlife[dot]ir
