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Research

Wolf Predation on Gazelle Fawns

by مدیر سایت June 22, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

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.

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June 22, 2013 0 comments

Large Family of Asiatic Cheetah near Turkmenistan Border

by مدیر سایت May 30, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 2 minutes read

“A large family of Asiatic cheetahs has been photo-trapped in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in north-eastern Iran. During an ongoing intensive monitoring of the cheetahs by means of camera traps in Miandasht Wildlife Refuge, the group was photographed, composing of an adult female “mom with three young adolescents. At least two adolescents are male, the third needs more investigation. The animals were recorded on several occasions while coming to water sources to drink.

This female cheetah has been an experienced mom or “super-mom”, successfully raised all her three cubs to the age of one. However, scientists are surprised how this large group survived among herds of livestock who have traditional grazing permissions within the area’s pastures in winters.

The cheetahs face various challenges during their first year of life, decreasing their chance of survival. Intensive studies in Africa have revealed high juvenile mortality among the cheetahs, even up-to 95% before reaching independence from mother (ca. 17 months) in eastern Africa. However, extremely low detectability of the Asiatic cheetahs has not allowed a proper investigation on their reproductive ecology in Iran.

However, successful rising of three juveniles to their second year has been possible due to recent enhanced protection measures in
place by the Norkh Khorasan Department of Environment. Presently, gazelle population has reached to more than 600, twice population size of early 2000s.
In the meantime, neighboring reserves around Miandasht now should expect the cheetahs, as they leave their mother in summer/fall 2013 to find new ranges. With respect to the area’s proximity to Turkmenistan border, even trans-boundary dispersal is plausible.

After ceasing camera trapping during winter 2012-2013 due to presence of livestock, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) and Iranian
Department of Environment, and Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) are re-establishing the monitoring program by means of equipping all the areas water sources with digital camera trap to catch proper shots of the young cheetahs in order to develop a national photo ID for each individual. These IDs would help scientists to understand if they would be photographed in the same or other areas.

May 30, 2013 0 comments

Research

Albino Jackal in Southeastern Iran

by مدیر سایت May 30, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

“An albino jackal, a medium-sized canid which is widespread in western Asia, has been caught on camera in southeastern Iran during a research project into the population survey of the Asiatic cheetah in Ravar Wildlife Refuge.Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. Albinism results from inheritance of recessive gene alleles and is known to affect all vertebrates, including humans.

Albinism has not been common among golden jackals but there are few cases from west Asia dating back to 1970s. In contrast recently melanistic golden jackal has been also reported from Turkey. With an area of 15,000 km2, Ravar Wildlife Refuge is part of the Asiatic cheetah monitoring program that the ICS leads within multiple reserves in Iran in partnership with Iranian Department of Environment, Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera. Since early fall 2012, the ICS’ experts are surveying the area while training game wardens for monitoring skills. However, unlike other cheetah habitats in the country, it is not an easy area to do field surveys, because it is near the border and has a high chance of encountering drug smuggling caravans. The project will continue until the end of summer 2013.

May 30, 2013 0 comments

Wildtalks

7th Iran WildTalk Seminar Held

by مدیر سایت May 11, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 1 minutes read

“Iran’s butterflies diversity as well as application of habitat modeling to protect birds were presented to more than 30 Iranian biologists and students in the 7^thIran’s “WildTalk” seminar. Held on 5 May 2013 in Tehran, Alireza Naderi, an Iran renowned butterfly expert from Iran’s Department of Environment introduced briefly Iran’s butterflies, comprising of 400 species, including 70 endemic species which indicates high diversity of insects in the country. He also alarmed about adverse impact of human activities on butterfly diversity. Then, University of Tehran’s associate professor Afshin Alizadeh presented his speech on habitat parameters of birds and how these models can promote species conservation.

Organized by Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) in partnership with ZistBoom News Agency and Iranian Technical Publishing Company, Iran’s “WildTalk” seminars are held monthly to present two research papers on the wildlife, aiming to share expertise and experiences among Iranian experts and managers for better nature management.

May 11, 2013 0 comments

Asiatic Cheetah Conservation Program Asiatic Cheetah Population Monitoring Program

During 2000s, 75 Asiatic Cheetahs Born

by مدیر سایت May 11, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 2 minutes read

“According to recent investigation, a total of 75 Asiatic cheetah cubs are known to be born since 2000 in different parts of Iran, in 32 different families. In other word, a minimum of 6 to 7 cheetahs are born each year in Iran. Located south of Alborz Mountains, Turan possessed the highest breeding capacity with at least 9 different families, equal to ca. 30%. However, it is obvious that these figures indicate the minimum numbers and actual breeding should be higher, because all families are not detected, sometimes are outside of protected areas where camera traps operate.

Long-term studies in east Africa have revealed that cheetahs suffer high juvenile mortality, 1 out of each 20 cubs reach to 18 months, age of independence from mothers. However, based on limited number of families studied in Iran, it can be concluded that Iranian cheetahs are lucky to have higher cub survival. The Asiatic cheetah occur in multiple reserves in eastern half of Iran, but analysis indicate that they still have high potential of recovering, if proper and vast habitats are well protected, according to studies ongoing by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project and Panthera.

Reproduction is one of the most critical demographic aspects to manage wildlife, particularly for endangered species. Accordingly, after completion of first round of national monitoring of the Asiatic cheetahs in Iran since 2011, the ICS has launched a new monitoring program to explore reproduction of the cheetahs in different areas. Thus, most of Iran’s main cheetah habitats are now equipped with digital camera traps and are regularly checked to find evidence of breeding which are expected to be quite rare. This program has been initiated since early May when is just after peak of cheetah birth in Iran and will continue until end of summer 2013.

May 11, 2013 0 comments

Research

The 6 Most Endangered Feline Species

by مدیر سایت April 16, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 0 minutes read

“Poaching, habitat loss, inbreeding and hybridization, these are just a few of the threats faced by many wild feline species around the globe. Recently, Scientific American featured six of the world’s most endangered feline species and subspecies—some of which may not survive into the next century. The Asiatic cheetah is in the middle of this list. Iran’s few remaining cheetahs are spread out over thousands of kilometers, making it extremely difficult to track and locate them. But, ICS’ recent surveys indicate that fewer than 70 cheetahs are left in Iran.

April 16, 2013 0 comments

Research

Less than One Third of Bear Habitat in Lorestan Protected

by مدیر سایت April 8, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 2 minutes read

“Iran is home to two species of bears, Asiatic black bear and brown bear which the latter ranges across vast areas of northern and western country. However, proper investigation has been rarely conducted on the brown bears, particularly across western mountains of Zagros. Accordingly, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) initiated a pilot project in Lorestan province which has a central location in western country to provide scientific knowledge for protection of two large carnivores, brown bear and Persian leopard.

According to predictive modeling based on data gathered from 156 game wardens and hunters across the province, no more than 20% of Lorestan’s territory is considered to be suitable for the brown bears while official protection has been granted to only one third of the bear range.
Research findings indicate that the brown bears prefer habitats far from human settlements and tend to habitats with higher slope and elevation. Moreover, bears’ litter size in summer was estimated to be around 2, similar to other known bear populations in Iran.

Establishment of new reserves in identified bear habitats, particularly southern province is the highest priority for bear protection, based on the research findings. In the meantime, some parts of the province seem to be seasonal receivers of the bears, probably from neighboring provinces (mainly during summer and spring, when bear patrol large areas). So, these areas, particularly southwestern Lorestan need to establish trans-provincial efforts to protect the species.

Also, monitoring bear status is highly recommended across the province through systematic collection of records and casualties, centralized in Lorestan province Department of Environment. The present project has established a central database for this purpose and local experts can continue data gathering to monitor trends and dynamics.

Lorestan is a historic province of western Iran, amidst the Zagros Mountains with a human population of 1,716,527 covering an area of 28,392 km². Lorestan bear project was carried out by the Iranian Cheetah Society and Lorestan office of Department of Environment with financial support from Dutch “Alertis Fund for Bear and Nature Conservation” and logistic support of the Iran Department of Environment.

A brown bear poached in recent years, this photo was obtained from Lorestan Department of Environment who arrested the poacher based on this short clip taken by his cell phone

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April 8, 2013 0 comments

Asiatic Cheetah Conservation Program

So Far, Only 20 Cheetahs Photographed in Iran

by مدیر سایت March 31, 2013

written by مدیر سایت 2 minutes read

“Based on recent camera trapping surveys in Iran, only 20 different Asiatic cheetahs have been recognized in the country. Initiated since late 2011, the first comprehensive national population survey has been implementing by the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) and Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) in partnership with Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) and Panthera. Around half of the country’s known cheetah population exist in central province of Yazd with multiple reserves for the species, while rest of the cheetahs roam areas such as Miandasht, Kavir, Turan, Doruneh, etc.

The Asiatic cheetah has attracted intensive attention of national and international scientific communities to answer various aspects of its life, particularly its population. However, so far, no precise and accurate estimation of the species population was available, making assessment of conservation measures difficult, or even impossible. Camera traps have been proposed to be useful for abundance estimation, based on other large cats experiences. However, due to lack of necessary equipment and fund for implementation, drawback in scientific methods and absence of an experienced team of trained field biologists, this technique has rarely been applied to the critically endangered Asiatic cheetahs.

So far, the ICS has covered nine reserves where the cheetahs are known to exist and simultaneously, Persian Wildlife Foundation covered Turan, one of the cheetah reserves. On the basis of analysis of more than 200 images of the cheetahs, 20 different individuals have been identified. However, due to resource constraints, there are still vast landscapes where camera traps had no chance to cover, indicating that a proportion of the country’s cheetah population has remained non-detected.

As approaching to the first round of the Iran’s National Cheetah Monitoring Program, the most significant message is that the Asiatic cheetah population is so tiny and fragile which necessitates immediate actions to safeguard the species and its range. In 2013, the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) has targeted its mission to monitor specifically females. Out of only seven female cheetahs detected so far, one was killed by shepherds in Turan whereas only one of the rest was proved to have cubs. In order to evaluate reproductive status of the females, their areas will be intensively surveyed to find evidence of breeding for later conservation actions.

The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is grateful to many organizations who contributed to this program. Special thanks go to Iranian Department of Environment (DoE), Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), Panthera, La Palmyre Zoo, Amersfoort Zoo, Stichting SPOTS, WWF, Conservation des Espèces et des Populations Animales, Parc des Felins, Prince Bernhard Fund for Nature and many individual donors who supported us during this period. Also, we should say a big thank you to many game guards and local experts who all passionately participated in this long effort. Last but not least, the ICS experts and volunteers who spent more than 15 months in the field to run the project and to analyze the data which all are highly appreciated.”