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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation Program

Asiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program

The dominant male cheetah of Miandasht died in road accident

by pourmir November 18, 2018
written by pourmir 0 minutes read

On Thursday evening, Yarqoli, the dominant male cheetah of Miandasht Wildlife Refuge that was captured several times by camera-traps died in an accident.

During the recent monitoring project in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, the only cheetah captured by the camera-traps seemed to be the dominant male of the area. Based on the veterinarian review this cheetah was 6-8 years old when sadly got killed in road accident.

ICS will continue the Cheetah Monitoring Program within the protected areas hoped to find a new population or individuals very soon.

November 18, 2018 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring ProgramICS News

ICS surveys Miandasht for cheetahs, again

by pourmir October 15, 2018
written by pourmir 1 minutes read

Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in North Khorasan Province, north-eastern Iran, is the long-term project site of the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS). As one of the few sites known to host a reproducing cheetah population in Iran, our scientists have been studying the local cheetah population for over a decade. Since 2011, ICS scientists have intensively used camera traps to monitor the Miandasht cheetahs. In 2017, our team had to abandon its fieldwork in Miandasht as legal authorities. It took over one year to obtain the necessary permissions to re-launch the survey of Miandasht.

Our team is now working with the local wildlife authority and Miandasht’s rangers to provide an up-to-date status assessment of the cheetah population. Some of the new camera-trap photos from Miandasht can been seen here. Learn about how you can help us to continue this work.

October 15, 2018 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramWater for Cheetahs Project

Local herder engaged through the “Water for Cheetahs” campaign, spotted two Asiatic cheetahs

by pourmir October 9, 2018
written by pourmir 1 minutes read

In 2015, our team launched a campaign to provide water for Asiatic cheetahs and their natural prey in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in North Khorasan Province. Because of excessive livestock grazing and a prolonged drought, local rangers used to spend a significant portion of their working hours supplying water for artificial water sites (‘wildlife drinkers’) inside Miandasht, which, in turn, negatively affected their anti-poaching patrolling of the reserve. Through the “Water for Cheetahs” campaign, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) has been able to raise funding to enroll a local herder to assist Miandasht rangers in the water provision for wildlife.

On July 23rd, 2018, the local wildlife authority reported that this local assistant has spotted two adult Asiatic cheetahs near one of the artificial wildlife drinkers. Miandasht is believed to support one of the last two viable cheetah sub-populations in Iran. Thanks to private donors and our partner organization World Land Trust, we have been able to continue the “Water for Cheetahs” campaign in 2018. Learn about how you can help us to continue this work in here.

October 9, 2018 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program

Another long-distance movement by an Asiatic cheetah recorded in central Iran

by pourmir October 6, 2018
written by pourmir 1 minutes read

On July 8th, 2018, a camera-trap set by Yazd Department of the Environment photographed an Asiatic cheetah in Bahabad No-Hunting Area. Located in Yazd Province in central Iran, this is the first hard evidence of cheetah occurrence in Bahabad since 2012. Our researchers compared this new photo with those of identified cheetah individuals during our Cheetah Monitoring Program. Surprisingly, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) researchers identified this cheetah as a male cheetah known to us as “Arash”. Arash has been photo-captured by our camera-traps in Naybandan Wildlife Refuge in South Khorasan Province, over 150 km away from Bahabad.

Arash ID Card

Arash ID Card

 

ICS camera-traps have recorded multiple long-distance movements by Asiatic cheetahs in central Iran since 2012, some even up to 217 km between the furthest known locations. Disturbingly, no female cheetahs or any hard evidence of cheetah reproduction has been recorded in the Southern Cheetah Landscape, including the Yazd Province, since 2012. These findings suggest improving protection beyond the current network of protected areas, particularly through biological corridors, must be a top priority in plans to save the Asiatic cheetah in Iran.

October 6, 2018 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Programcheetah dayResearch

The Unknown Fate of the Asiatic Cheetah

by pourmir September 13, 2016
written by pourmir 6 minutes read

Conservation efforts must take a landscape level approach

As a Critically-Endangered subspecies of cheetahs that only persist in Iran, the Asiatic cheetah (also known as the Iranian cheetah) is very popular today. Asiatic cheetahs are considered as a national symbol for Iranians, the only nation that is proud being able to save these charismatic cats from extinction in Asia. However, the Iranian cheetah population seems to be in serious trouble, and new evidence suggests that in spite of ongoing conservation efforts, this population has been declining during the past years.
The year 2001 was a milestone in cheetah conservation in Iran. The Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), an initiative between Iran’s Department of Environment, UNDP and a number of international partners, as well as the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) were formed with the goal to reverse the Iranian cheetah extinction. When we at ICS started our very first conservation-based efforts, very little was known about cheetahs in Iran. Throughout the past decade, new information started slowly flowing. New cheetah habitats and conservation plans began. The number of game wardens in cheetah habitats has been almost doubled. Remotely-triggered camera traps were imported to Iran for the first time and intensively employed for detection, and after several years of monitoring, of local cheetah populations. Different attempts have been carried out to assess the status of cheetahs in Iran. Several community-based projects have been conducted in villages and human settlements inside or in periphery of critical cheetah habitats. Either big or small, several national and local partners have joined the efforts to help conserving cheetahs in Iran. Additionally, 31st of August has been named as “National Cheetah Day” in the country to celebrate the persistence of Iranian cheetahs, and to stress the need to continue conservation efforts. By adding the Asiatic cheetah on the jersey of Iranian national soccer team, a new awareness campaign went throughout the country, and now there is a strong desire among Iranians to conserve their Critically Endangered cheetahs.
Without the conservation activities launched in the last 15 years the Asiatic cheetah would probably go extinct today. Nevertheless, we at ICS believe that much more is needed to be done to secure the cheetah survival in Iran. This year we celebrated the 10th anniversary National Cheetah Day in Iran, but we are sad to confirm that the Asiatic cheetah status is worrisome.
Since 2011 with the cooperation of CACP and provincial offices of Iran Department of Environment, we launched the Nation-wide Cheetah Monitoring Program in Iran. By this large-scale initiative we aimed to assess the status of cheetahs in Iran, and to provide for the first time scientifically-sound estimates of the population size and trend in their last stronghold. Using intensive camera trapping surveys across multiple cheetah habitats, we identify cheetah individuals, and by repeating the survey each year, we hope to monitor the population status and trend. The first phase of this project was done in 2011-2013. The second phase was carried out in 2014-2015, and presently we are busy with the third phase, which is expected to run until mid-2017.
During the first phase, we identified 20 different cheetahs including 11 males, 7 females, and 2 cheetahs of unknown sex. Based on the size of the area cheetahs living in Iran, almost one-third of the country or approximately equal to the size of France, the monitoring of Asiatic cheetahs is extremely challenging. Given our data, we guesstimated that between 40-70 cheetahs may live across their entire range in Iran. Since then, we have attempted to monitor all the identified individuals, some of them are still photo-captured by our camera traps inside the cheetah reserve. We confirm that preliminary results from the third phase, in combination with the data collected during the second phase and one study in Kavir National Park, are a source of major concern. Since 2013, neither cheetah reproduction nor any female cheetahs have been recorded in cheetah habitats in south-central Iran. During the past three years, we have been able to document the presence of only 4 male cheetahs in the cheetah reserves in Yazd province. We are truly concerned as Yazd province was used to be a hotspot for cheetahs in Iran, and several reproducing cheetahs were known to persist inside this province.

cheetah

 
Given the available data, it is very likely that viable cheetah populations are now limited to only four area: Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in North Khorasan province, Touran Biosphere Reserve in Semnan province, Naybandan Wildlife Refuge in South Khorasan province, and, possibly, Darband-e Ravar Wildlife Refuge in Kerman province. We accept that providing reliable estimates of cheetah population size, effective population size, and reproducing females are currently impossible. Also, for a better picture of the current status we have to wait until surveys are finished. However, so far only two female cheetahs are captured using our camera traps. We stress that it does not mean that only 2 females persist in Iran. We also guesstimate that currently the size of the Iranian cheetah population may not exceed 40 individuals. Given the extremely small size of the Iranian cheetah population, and the fact that these number are also divided into smaller local population divided into habitats some of them are hundreds of kilometers apart, loss of even one cheetah would have a catastrophic effect on the survival of the last remaining Asiatic cheetahs.
 

cheetah-map

Fig. 2. Distribution of the Asiatic cheetah in Iran. Confirmed cheetah areas based on hard evidences, such as photos, videos, and dead specimens during 15 years ago. 1) Miandash, 2) Khosh Yeilagh, 3) Touran, 4) Dorouneh, 5) Kavir, 6) Boshrouyeh, 7) Abbas Abad, 8) Siahkouh, 9) Naybandan, 10) Dareh Anjir, 11) Ariz, 12) Bahabad, 13) Darband, 14) Bafgh, 15) Kalmand. During the past 15 years, there have been only two confirmed cheetah occurrences in Khosh yeylaq (No. 2), and only one confirmed occurrence in Dorouneh (No. 4) and Boshrouyeh (No. 6).

 
Since 2001, we are aware of at least 48 cheetah mortalities in different incidents in Iran, including 34 confirmed evidences containing hard documents. Out of these incidents, only 7 cheetahs are likely to have died because of natural causes. At least 21 cheetahs have been killed by shepherds, as well as 15 cheetahs have been killed in vehicle collisions. There is also evidence of at least 5 cheetahs being killed by poachers.
We have recently shown that Asiatic cheetahs disperse greatly across multiple reserves. This nomadic lifestyle is extremely important for the persistence of Iranian cheetah population, as these immigrations might reverse local extinction for such small wildlife subpopulations. On the other hand, continuous cheetah movements and their unpredictable movement patterns make their conservation extremely difficult. Many human areas, roads and railways exist between cheetah habitats, some of them trespassing the cheetah reserves, which might lead to the loss of more cheetahs. Therefore much more extensive efforts must be made at the same time to protect the remaining cheetahs. We are still hopeful in conservation of Asiatic Cheetahs, but we believe that all national and international partners must play a bigger, and more active, role to safeguard cheetahs in Iran.
We have launched an online petition to ask President Hassan Rouhani to order immediate implementation of several protective measures, most importantly by pushing governmental bodies to cooperate with the Department of Environment. So far more than 5000 Iranians has signed the petition, and hope that this petition will provide a much needed political will and support for conservation of the Asiatic cheetah in Iran.
 

September 13, 2016 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation Programcheetah dayResearch

Urgent action is needed to save the Iranian cheetah population from extinction

by pourmir August 29, 2016
written by pourmir 2 minutes read

On August 29th 2016, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) held a press conference explaining its plans for the 10th anniversary of the National Cheetah Day. During this conference CEO of ICS, Morteza Eslami, stressed that ICS intensive field works since 2012 suggest that the current status of the Iranian cheetah population is a source of major concern. He explained that during 2012 ICS surveys, 20 cheetah individuals were photographed inside the cheetah reserves, of which 7 were females. In 2013-14 surveys, 23 Asiatic cheetahs were identified through extensive camera-trapping efforts, but only 4 were females. Eslami added that 2016 surveys have been able to document as few as only 2 female cheetahs, given the fact that two out of 4 females we identified in 2013-14 surveys died in vehicle collisions in 2015-16. Eslami noted that the available data is insufficient to judge if the cheetah population trend is declining. “However, there is strong evidence that if we do not act now, there would be no hope for the survival of the Iranian cheetahs by 2020”, Eslami added.
Furthermore, Eslami explained that currently 2 female cheetahs have been photo-captured in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, and other partners have been able to confirm the presence of at least one female cheetah in Touran Biosphere Reserve. No female cheetahs have been recorded in the southern cheetah nuclei in the south and south-central Iran since 2012. Eslami stressed that the Iranian cheetah population appears to be very small population, perhaps about 40 individuals, so increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic events. ICS believes that still there is hope for saving the Iranian cheetah population. Yet, conservation efforts must be doubled, national and international partners must work together and focus their efforts to minimize cheetah mortalities and isolation of the remaining populations, and roads trespassing or surrounding critical cheetah habitats must be secured for cheetah movements to guarantee cheetah population connectivity.

August 29, 2016 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring ProgramResearch

Preliminary results from the Nation-wide Cheetah Monitoring Program: The cheetah coalition is still roaming in Yazd province

by pourmir August 25, 2016
written by pourmir 1 minutes read

New data obtained during the third phase of nation-wide cheetah monitoring program confirm the persistence of a male cheetah coalition we previously identified in 2012 in Darreh Anjir Wildlife Refuge, Yazd province.
Within this phase of our intensive field surveys in the south-central and central Iran, during late May-July our team employed 50 remotely-triggered camera traps across key cheetah sites in Yazd province, including Darreh Anjir Wildlife Refuge, Bahabad No-Hunting Area, and two sites outside the current network of protected areas. Our goal is to monitor the status of cheetah individuals we have identified since 2012 surveys, and to investigate if any female cheetahs remain across the cheetah range in Yazd province.
After more than 2 months of camera-trapping surveys, about 270000 photos have been obtained. Preliminary analysis of the cheetah photos confirms the persistence of 4 male cheetahs known to us since 2012, including a male coalition of three cheetahs we named as “Ardalan”, “Arsalan”, and “Ardavan”, and “Hominu” a lone male cheetah. Unfortunately, neither any female cheetahs nor any sign of reproduction has been obtained in our camera-trapping effort.
The Iranian Cheetah Society is now extending the monitoring program into Naybandan Wildlife Refuge, South Khorasan province, and will then continue with surveying Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in north-eastern Iran. Our works is done in collaboration with provincial offices of Iran Department of Environment and Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP).

 

August 25, 2016 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring ProgramEducational Activities

Shepherd dogs threatens Asiatic Cheetah cubs in Miandasht

by مدیر سایت February 29, 2016
written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

Miandasht Wildlife Refuge is one of the key cheetah reserves in northeastern Iran. Monitoring of the reserves using camera-traps by ICS has revealed at least 7 cheetah individuals in this reserve, which is one of the largest known populations of the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah. ICS’ camera-traps have also documented the presence of at least two different cheetah families with 4 dependant cubs.

Every year during the autumn and winter seasons, a number of traditional pastoralists are permitted to graze their herd in a portion of Miandasht. These pastoralists use more than 35 shepherd dogs for their herds. Shepherd dogs are serious threats for cheetah cubs, as they can easily chase cheetah families and kill the cubs, as previously documented in different locations in Iran.

During the winter 2016, ICS biologists in collaboration with the local wildlife authority and local rangers in Miandasht, run a rapid awareness effort for about 90% of herders entered the reserve. With this effort, ICS biologists discussed with herders different aspects of livestock herding and potential threats to cheetahs in Miandasht, stressing on managing shepherd dogs in order to minimize the risk of encountering with cheetahs. Also, some gifts were presented to the herders with signs and photos of cheetahs, as a reminder for the fact that local herders can play an important role in conservation efforts for cheetahs in Iran.

Shepherd dogs treats
Shepherd dogs treats
Shepherd dogs treats
Shepherd dogs treats
February 29, 2016 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramAsiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program

New cheetah death highlights the importance of identifying and preserving biological corridors

by مدیر سایت February 6, 2016
written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

On February 1st, 2016, Semnan Department of Environment discovered a carcass of an adult male cheetah in vicinity of Touran Protected Area. A preliminary necroscopy examination suggested that this cheetah has been unfortunately killed by humans. While further investigations are underway, ICS researchers compared the unique coat pattern of this individual with our country-wide dataset of identified Iranian cheetahs. Our team could identify this adult male cheetah as an individual previously camera-trapped as a cub by our team in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in North Khorasan Province, back in summer 2012 and again in 2013.

dead cheetah of Touran

There is no empirical data about dispersal and movement ecology of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran. However, Iranian cheetahs are known to move long-distances within and between the known cheetah nuclei in south-central Iran. This incident confirms past speculations about emigration and immigration of cheetahs from and to Miandasht and Touran, highlighting the urgent need for identifying and preserving biological corridors for the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah in Iran. Read more about ICS research on cheetah movements in central Iran.

February 6, 2016 0 comments
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Asiatic Cheetah Conservation ProgramEducation and Capacity Building

The Asiatic cheetah inforgraphic poster: call for collaboration

by مدیر سایت January 6, 2016
written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) has used infographic posters as an education tool during the last few years. By combining “information” and “graphic”, infographic posters can act as innovative educational tools for a variety of conservation-oriented purposes to illustrate the knowledge in a simple but comprehensive way for the public.

Our team is now working on a new poster about the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah. We would like to produce this poster in as much different languages as possible, so to raise global awareness about the vanishing Asiatic cheetah. To date with the help of our supporters and friends, we have been able to translate the poster into 15 languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic, Swedish, Dutch, Catalan, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Turkish.

We still need your help! We need volunteers who are either skilled in, or their mother tongue is, one of the following languages highlighted in the below link: https://poeditor.com/join/project/dMWS4rRlcW

Please join us in this effort to spread the word about the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah in its last stronghold!

January 6, 2016 0 comments
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  • New Report on Asiatic Cheetah Population in Iran Released
  • Iranian Cheetah Society Releases Triennial Report For 2021-2023
  • ICS Participated in First Cheetah Global Summit held in Ethiopia
  • Khorshid: The Everlasting Hope of Turan
  • Explorers of Hope Follow the Trail of a Cheetah in a Rural Area

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New Report on Asiatic Cheetah Population in Iran Released

Iranian Cheetah Society Releases Triennial Report on Wildlife Conservation and Asiatic Cheetah Conservation

Iranian Cheetah Society Releases Triennial Report For 2021-2023

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ICS Participated in First Cheetah Global Summit held in Ethiopia

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