Asiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program

Iranian Cheetah Soceity’s country-wide monitoring program for the Asiatic Cheetahs continues in a new site, Naybandan Wildlife Refuge.
The project team has just finished the intensive camera-trapping in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Iran, and now moves the camera traps to Naybandan, eastern Iran.
During the survey in Miandasht, four cheetah individuals were detected and many wildlife species were recorded. The survey in Naybandan is conducting with collaboration of South Khorasan Office of Iran DoE and Pars Wildlife Institute.
Naybandan Wildlife Refuge is the large reserve in Iran with an area of 14000 km2 . Iranian Cheetah Society has surveyed the reserve in 2013 and hopes that the new survey will result in a new estimation of cheetah population in the reserve.

Iranian Cheetah Society’s Cheetah Project Featured on IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.

The first phase of ICS’ “Status of Asiatic Cheetah in Iran: A Country-scale Assessment” featured as “The Project of the Month” on IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. ICS is doing a nation-wide population assessment of the Asiatic cheetahs across Iran using camera traps.

The first phase of the project has been conducted during 2011-2013. The project team has just launched the second phase of the camera-trapping surveys in selected cheetah reserves.

To read more about our cheetah project follow this link: http://catsg.org/index.php?id=575

During the Cheetah Conservation Program in Miandasht Wildlife refuge, multiple photos of different species have been taken around Koushki enclosure, which are very interesting.
The most considerable ones are two adult cheetahs that have been passing by the Koushki enclosure several times. Their skin patterns have shown that one of them is a new individual identified this summer for the first time and the other one is a locally born cub becoming of adult age. Other species are Hyena, Wolf, Fox, Rabbit and Deer. The third round of the Cheetah Conservation Program in Miandasht has been finished successfully by the ICS and Environmental Affair and 4 new individuals were identified.

The newest captured photos by camera traps in different areas of Iran, represents the diverse food menu of the Iranian carnivores. By now various pictures of the Caracal, Rüppell’s fox, Blanford’s fox (Vulpes cana), Wolf and Hyena were taken in different areas of Iran which demonstrate the hunting and scavenging actions of these animals on other mammals.

The ‘National Monitoring of the Asiatic Cheetah Program in Iran’ which got started by the Iranian Cheetah Society with the collaboration of wildlife departments in different states of Iran has been running since mid 2011. This program dedicates a great amount of information to researchers and scholars and based on that information; they can discover valuable new facts about the their lives and the ecology of different species. These discoveries and information can be used in order to figure out more about the situation regarding the different species of carnivores – especially the Asiatic Cheetah.

“Iran is home to the last known population of Asiatic cheetah which once roamed across vast ranges of west and south Asian countries. However, despite enforced protection efforts in recent years, no reliable information was available about the subspecies population in the country which made assessment of conservation measures impossible.

Accordingly, a comprehensive monitoring program was initiated by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in partnership with Iran’s Department of Environment, Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project and Panthera to understand demographic characteristics of the cheetahs in Iran between 2011 and 2013. As a result, a population of 40 to 70 individuals is now concluded for the entire country, fewer than what was already thought, i.e. 70 to 100.camera traps are reliable tools which are applicable for investigating population of elusive marked cats, such as the cheetahs. However, this technology has been rarely applied to the species due to its elusive nature and low density. In Iran, due to political sanctions, necessary equipment are not easily accessible which prevented a thorough status assessment before due to lack of proper number of camera traps. Thanks to various donors and partners, the monitoring program was initiated recently to fill the gap in knowledge which is essential for improving protection. Accordingly, almost 10 reserves within Iran were covered by means of infra-red camera traps to yield a reliable estimation of the cheetah population.

However, since no basic figure is available about the cheetah population for previous years, it is difficult to judge about population trends of the Asiatic cheetahs in Iran. Meanwhile, based on sporadic data available from previous years, it seems that the cheetah population has a decreasing status in recent years, indicting its most critically endangered status ever. Therefore, a comprehensive program is needed to protect the Asiatic cheetahs in the country. As part of its Cheetah Program, the ICS has a broad range of activities to halt the decrease, including training and equipping game guards, stopping overgrazing within reserves, community-based programs, application of genetic methods to understand population composition, etc. It is highly recommended to involved conservation agencies to revise existing protection efforts in Iran in order to safeguard cheetah survival in the country.

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.