Le guépard asiatique est aujourd'hui probablement le félin le plus menacé au monde (il en reste peut - être moins de cinquante). La photographie de 12 individus clairement identifiés dans la zone de Biarjand, dans le Nord du pays, depuis une semaine, est, à tous égards, la meilleure nouvelle concernant cet animal depuis des années. Mehr News Agency, ce jour. "8 Asiatic cheetahs spotted in Shahroud."
Ali Akbar Qorbanlou told Mehr News local correspondent on Thursday that 5 adult cheetahs along with their 3 cubs had been spotted; “in another case, a female cheetah along with her 3 cubs of rare species of Asiatic phyla have been sighted somewhere in south of Kalateh Kiki, 3km from Biarjmand, Shahroud in Semnan desert province,” he said.
“Despite the scarcity of their prey, Asiatic cheetahs have had an incipient resilience in the region thanks to good and effective measures by the government along with public appreciation of the animal,” Qorbanlou hoped.
“The sighting of this rare species is a source of hope for the Khartouran Biosphere Reserve; in last few days, another group, consisting of 4 adult cheetahs in the vicinity of cultivations of Biarjmand, which rejoiced the local farmers and animal right activists and lovers alike,” said the head of the Biosphere Reserve.
He also expressed gratitude for recent performance in recent few years of the authorities and Biarjmand people in protecting the wildlife; “the considerable spotting of the cheetahs in the region restores hope to the hearts of animal lovers and wildlife activists; this communicates a message for us; the drought has attracted the cheetah prey, the deer, into plantations and into human settlements; the second message is that the wildlife feels protection and security in the region,” he added.
“Khartouran National Park is the most protected major habitat of the rare species of cheetah; the health and the population of the cheetahs are in good shape in the Park,” Qorbanlou told Mehr News, lamenting the recent illegal hunting and hunters, which he said, one of the hunters had been arrested with the carcass of a jabiru in his hand.
“The hunters had a binocular telescope, which was seized by the rangers; the hunters usually chase the deer into the point of exhaustion and easily hunt the beautiful animal,” Qorbanlou mentioned as their measure.
Actualisation au 6 juillet. Mehr News Agency. UNDP, Dana Insurance to protect Asiatic cheetah.
TEHRAN, Jul. 06 (MNA) – UN Development Program and Dana Insurance Co. have signed agreement to jointly protect Asiatic cheetah.
“We have gathered here to sign an agreement with Dana Insurance Company and mark yet another milestone in our struggle to save the Asiatic cheetah” said Mr. Gary Lewis, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.
Mr. Lewis was speaking at an event to formalize an agreement between Dana Insurance Company and the UN Development Program to support the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) which is implemented with the Department of the Environment. This ceremony took place today at the United Nations Common Premises.
The agreement between UNDP and Dana Insurance Co. will activate a form of insurance coverage provided by Dana which will mitigate threats to cheetahs by providing much-needed funding for the implementation of critical aspects of the project’s work plan.
Specifically, Dana Insurance will provide up to $15,000 to the project each time a cheetah is killed in road accidents or by herder dogs. The money thus realized will go into the project and be used to reduce the threats which killed the cheetahs in the first place. It will be awarded for a maximum of 5 cheetah kills per year.
“The partnership between Dana Insurance Company and the CACP is an excellent example of the positive results that can be achieved when the public and private sectors join forces in pursuit of a common goal,” said Mr. Lewis. “Such cooperation underlines the essence of partnership-building which is required for future sustainable development.”
Iran is the last habitat of the precious Asiatic cheetah. Even up to half a century ago, the species was widespread across the Indian subcontinent and Central and Southwest Asia. However, during the past several decades, due to pressures of modernization, encroaching roads, human settlements and livestock, along with illegal shooting by poachers, the number of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran had fallen to dangerously low levels.
Recognizing the problem, back in 2001, Iran’s Department of Environment, UNDP and a number of committed national and international partners joined forces to save these emblematic cats through the CACP. Over the past decade and a half, the project has contributed to reversing the process of extinction for this iconic cat species in Iran, through a number of interventions including local community partnership, supporting the game guards, strengthening of Iran’s protected areas and research.
