Asiatic cheetahs have been spotted again — pardon the pun — in Iran. From Iran Seeks to Save Rare Cheetahs:
The four adult cheetahs were seen two weeks ago near Naiband, a village in Iran’s central desert, said Ziaei, who is one of the scientists surveying the Naiband cheetahs.
Camera traps set to survey wildlife also photographed an entire family of Asiatic cheetahs in June, including a female and her four youngsters, resting in the shade of a tree in Dareh Anjir, an isolated wildlife refuge in central Iran, said Ziaei.
The two groups of cheetahs are the largest-known of these rare cats ever photographed in Asia, said Ziaei.
Once known as ‘hunting leopards,’ cheetahs have played a significant role in Iranian history, being trained by ancient emperors to hunt gazelles.
In the 1970s, estimates of the number of cheetahs in Iran ranged from 100 to 400.
But widespread poaching of cheetahs and their prey during the early years of the 1979 Islamic revolution, along with degradation of habitat due to livestock grazing, have pushed this important predator to the brink of extinction.
Scientists have been surveying five protected areas where cheetahs were still thought to exist. The group found a variety of suitable habitats, but also discovered that prey species, such as jebeer gazelle and urial sheep, were scarce.
Cheetahs usually die before reaching six months mainly due to hunger, but Ziaei said the latest discoveries and photographs hint at the gradual recovery of prey populations.
By the way, that image immediately reminded me of Passion in the Desert.