Only a dozen Asiatic cheetahs are left in the wild in Iran, the situation for the highly endangered species as “extremely critical.”
Just a matter of decades ago, cheetahs boasted habitats from the eastern reaches of India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal. Today, the world’s fastest land animal, capable of reaching speeds of 120 kilometers per hour, is considered critically endangered.
The measures have been taken to increase protection, reproduction, and the installation of road signs have not been enough to save this species.
Only nine male and three female Asiatic Cheetahs in the country, compared to an estimated 100 in 2010.
Cheetah numbers have plummeted due to a combination of poaching, the hunting of its main wild prey — gazelles — and human encroachment on its habitat. They are frequently hit by cars and killed in fights with sheep dogs on grazing pastures.
Environmentalists say the world’s fastest animal has been the victim of drought, hunting, habitat destruction, and scarcity of prey due to hunters in the remote and arid central plateaus.
Looks like the only remaining habitats left for the majestic cats is the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge and Touran Biosphere Reserve in northeast Iran.
A species with a population of less than 100 individuals cannot maintain its health in the long run, while with a population of less than 50, it will not be able to maintain its genetic diversity in the long run, so the species is in a critical condition.
Asiatic cheetahs once lived across the grasslands of India, Pakistan, Russia, and the Middle East, but have been entirely wiped out except in Iran. The cheetah species is slightly different than those found in parts of southern Africa.
There is no international support for the conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah. There is no funding. The Asiatic cheetah also found itself under political sanctions, as the whole world blocked Iran with political and economic sanctions. Iran has neither the means nor the capacity to deal with environmental issues.
How, in your opinion, is it possible to preserve a unique feline species? What needs to be done already today to preserve the unique felid species?