@ccaracal-blog1 You can call me Ross! This is a big cat blog, where you'll see photographs and informational posts.
[he/him pronouns]
Today, there are only 40-70 Asiatic cheetahs remaining in the world. Please consider donating to the Iranian Cheetah Society, or other organizations working for the conservation of this beautiful wild cat!
Photo + info source: Cheetahs Alive/ICS
I talk a lot about Delbar and Koushki, but I don’t believe I’ve ever told you guys about Marita. Marita was an Asiatic cheetah who lived most of her life in Pardisan Park in Tehran. On August 31, 1994, when she was a young cub, her mother led her and Marita’s two brothers into Yazd Province, desperately in search of food and water. Marita was rescued by game guards there, however, her mother and two brothers were attacked due to being seen as a threat to livestock. Unfortunately, they did not make it out alive with Marita.
For almost ten years, she lived a happy life in Pardisan Park, captivating the heart of many. She was the subject of filmmakers and wildlife enthusiasts alike, who had all flocked there to see the only captive Asiatic cheetah at the time. She passed away in 2003 at the age of nine years old.
In honor of her, August 31st in Iran has now been set aside as a special day to raise awareness of the Asiatic cheetah’s plight, named National Cheetah Day.
Rest in peace, Marita, and I promise you that this world will do all it can to save your subspecies - and Cheetahs as a whole species - before it’s too late.
Kooshki, a 7-year-old male, and Delbar, a 3-year-old female, are two Asiatic cheetahs who have been in captivity in Mian Dasht Wildlife Sanctuary in North Khorasan Province and in Khar Turan National Park in Semnan Province respectively. In December, the two big cats were transferred to a research site in Tehran where they first met.
Acting on the expert advice of Sean McKeown, a foreign consultant of the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project, Delbar and Kooshki spend three days together every 12 days.
The pair has established a very close relationship. The male cheetah seems to be enjoying the new company more than the female feline.
They are likely to have mated and there are speculations that Delbar is expecting. But, because the mating season has not finished yet, further tests and even a sonogram will be run in the presence of the foreign consultant in late March to determine whether she is pregnant.
Full Story on the Iran Front Page || Info on Koushki and Delbar
We have now started analyzing the photos and identifying the captured cheetahs. Preliminary results have confirmed that the male cheetah, who was photo-captured in 2013 and awarded the BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photo of the Year 2014, still occurs in the reserve. The Society’s camera traps have also captured a dozen of photos of sympatric carnivores with cheetahs.
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Today, only 40 to 70 Asiatic cheetahs remain in the world. There few kept in captivity, and in the wild, they are only found in Iran. The main threats to Asiatic cheetahs include poaching, road accidents, and prey loss. These stunning animals find themselves faced with the prospect of extinction in the near future if swift action is not taken to save them.
Please consider donating to the Iranian Cheetah Society, and/or Panthera’s Iranian Cheetah Project.
Eight years ago, a male Asiatic cheetah cub was brought to the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge after his mother had been killed by a poacher. He was named ‘Koushki’, after the man who had initially brought him to the reserve.
Now, he has been paired up with a female Asiatic cheetah named Delbar. The two have been transferred to a new location in Tehran in hopes that they will reproduce. This is truly a unique occasion - they are currently the only known Asiatic cheetah couple kept in captivity.
[Read more here, here, and here.]
Please consider donating to the Iranian Cheetah Society, a group dedicated to Asiatic cheetah conservation!
The head of the Iranian Cheetah Association says the endangered feline’s numbers are still falling in Iran, despite efforts, and their situation has become more critical. Morteza Eslami told ISNA that earlier estimates pointed to a population of between 70 and 120 Asiatic cheetahs in the country but the number is now put between 40 and 70.
Please consider donating to the Iranian Cheetah Society and/or Panthera’s Iranian Cheetah Project!