Understanding the change in the habits of cheetahs is the beginning to save this endangered species

Recognizing the characteristics of the Asian cheetah as a valuable species that the passage of time and environmental conditions have caused to its biological changes, habits and instincts, is the most important step to preserve and save it from the danger of extinction.

According to IRNA, if you are told to name an animal with a dog’s body and a cat’s head, what comes to your mind? You might first think of ancient paintings and sculptures. Now add this characteristic to the very high power of vision to the extent that it is able to see its prey from a distance of five kilometers, or that it has a mane but does not have the power to roar.

Now hearing that it reaches 100 km/h in three seconds may bring you closer to the desired answer.

These are the characteristics of the world’s first endangered feline according to the classification of the World Organization for Natural Resources Conservation. Asiatic cheetah, which according to environmental activist and wildlife lecturer Amin Valian, has taken the first place from the Amur leopard in the last 6 years and is at the top of the world’s endangered felines.

These cases were only a part of the topics raised in a seminar that was held on the occasion of the 9th of Shahrivar, National Cheetah Day, for 2 days with the presence of wildlife and environment lovers in the most important Iranian cheetah habitat, Shahrood city, Semnan province.

A seminar in an intimate atmosphere and away from common rituals, which brought together people from environmentalists to doctors and engineers, from young age groups to older people. The participants in this program did not come to hear the speech of a responsible official. Rather, they wanted to know the characteristics of the cheetah, which is mentioned so much, and these days, pictures of its cute and strange cub have been widely published in cyberspace. Of course, ironically, it was the unique features of this feline that sometimes brought tears and sometimes smiles to the faces of the attendees.

Most of the yaks lost in road accidents were females

The instructor of this seminar stated that cheetahs live in two ways, individually and in groups, and added: groups consist of mothers and cubs or young males.

Amirhossein Valian added: 2 components of the habitat of the prey as well as the peace and security of the area are very important in the living environment of wolverines.

Stating that most of the yaks that died in road accidents were females, he clarified: the reason for this is that female yaks are selective in the mating process, because they travel between habitats.

This environmental activist reminded: Unfortunately, we lost the wolverine in the area of ​​Abbas Abad road because they were wolverines with cubs.

Valian also mentioned the value and role of cheetahs in maintaining biodiversity, ecological balance, genetic reserve and the prosperity of the nature tourism industry and said: Cheetah is the oldest remaining cat on earth with a history of three and a half to four million years.

He stated that Asian and African cheetahs separated from each other between 67 and 32 thousand years ago and followed 2 different paths, adding: Cheetahs were present in all continents except Australia, and Europe and North America gradually lost them first. and then the Asian countries said goodbye to the wolves.

This wildlife lecturer said: These were the bottlenecks of the population that took the otters and all animals like them out of the world.

The problem of reproduction of wolverines in captivity

Valian, referring to the attention of kings and princes to cheetahs from about five thousand years ago and seeking help from cheetahs in hunting, stated: Non-breeding of cheetahs in captivity is a problem that caused the population of this animal to decrease even more.

Stating that 120 years ago, 100 thousand wolverines lived in 44 Asian and African countries, he added: The last wolverines of India were destroyed 75 years ago.

Referring to the population of 200 to 300 collared yaks in Iran about 45 years ago, this environmental activist reminded: this population reached 100 collars 30 years ago, 70 collars 10 years ago, and less than 40 collars about five years ago. .

Emphasizing that Shahroud is the last hope of the Iranian cheetah, Valian stated: only male cheetahs remained in the habitats of Yazd and North Khorasan provinces, which are doomed, and only in the Turan region of Shahroud we still see cheetahs breeding.

He also pointed out the existence of one Asian subspecies and four African subspecies of cheetah and said: Although the situation of African cheetahs is not very interesting, and in addition to population decline, their geographic habitat is also limited, but they still have better conditions than Asian cheetahs, why Of the remaining seven thousand wild cheetahs, less than half of them are Asiatic cheetahs.

Changing the behavior of the Iranian cheetah and the danger of extinction

This wildlife lecturer stated that the behavior of the Asian cheetah has recently been observed, which is remarkable in contrast to its African subspecies, and added: The first behavior is the widening of the animal’s territory and the second is the more serious pursuit of its migratory behavior.

Valian continued: Also, the Iranian cheetah has turned to being nocturnal and especially active in moonlight nights, which is contrary to the behavior of African cheetahs, which are completely diurnal.

He added: In addition, it has been seen that the ostrich returns to the carcass or the carcass of its prey, while the ostriches do not behave like this and must constantly hunt for new ones.

Factors that lead wolverines to behave contrary to their nature

Emphasizing that the message of these behaviors is that the cheetah is facing problems in Iran, Valian reminded: the lack of prey, the lack of gender balance in the habitat and the animal being forced to search more in order to find prey or mates, as well as the lack of security in the animal’s habitat. forced to behave that is not hidden in its nature.

He also pointed out the factors of population decline and threats to the survival of Asian ostriches and said: The same ostriches that were captured and did not reproduce in captivity became one of the reasons for the sharp decline in the population of ostriches.

This environmental activist stated that in a historical period, at least 6 yaks had to be killed to sew a dress, and added: In contemporary times, the use of jeeps left over from the Second World War and the indiscriminate hunting of deer as prey for yaks have caused serious harm. entered into their population.

Valian listed the 2-wheel drive cars and motorcycles used by people in nature as another factor in hunting and reducing the population of yaks and reminded: the indiscriminate grazing of livestock and the destruction of the habitat, as well as the presence of camels without butterflies, which lead to the destruction of water sources in the dry season. It has become another factor to threaten the wolverine population in Iran.

He also pointed to the factors that seriously endanger the survival of cheetahs today and said: Road accidents are the record number of cheetah deaths in Iran, as more than half of cheetahs die due to accidents.

The road is the first cause of killing yuze in Iran

Stating that roads and roads, in addition to accidents, also fragment the animal’s habitat, Valian emphasized: In this way, animals are quarantined and their genetic diversity is reduced, which itself can cause the gender balance to be disrupted.

He continued: In addition to directly harming the habitat of wildlife, mines also create countless roads and traffic, which is very dangerous for wolverines.

This environmental activist stated that herd dogs and shepherds are also responsible for the death of half of the population of yaks, and added: In addition to all these issues, cultural and knowledge problems in the country have caused people and officials to not only know yaks but also wildlife. They do not know its value.

In the continuation of this program, Amirhossein Valian, the secretary of the Nature Watch Society, attributed the remaining wildlife in the Turan region to the efforts and efforts of the environmentalists who work with minimal facilities and legal support, but with love.

He also asked Ali Akbar Gurbanloo, the head of Shahrood Environmental Protection Department, to speak for a few minutes in the audience.

Gurbanlu, who, according to himself, was born as a nomad and has served in Turan National Park for many years, talked about the efforts of environmentalists in this area to preserve the last survivors of the Iranian cheetah.

He also mentioned a bitter memory from many years ago regarding the loss of three lynx cubs along with their mother on the Abbas Abad road in Miami and said: When I was in Biarjmand, our colleagues were informed about the loss of 2 lynx cubs on the Shahroud-Mashhad road. That night, I quickly went to the scene of the incident, but at that time, because we had witnessed such an incident for the first time, and we did not know that the mother of the cubs was coming to this place to look for her children, I did not wait there and left the place to report to the general manager.

Gurbanlu continued: I had not yet reached home when the police commander of Abbas Abad road called and said that the mother, who was in this area looking for her children, had an accident, broke her back and was taken to the police station.

He added: “That night, I hugged and kissed the mother osprey and at the same time I witnessed her death, and the bitterness of this story increased 2 days later because my colleagues found the body of the third osprey cub of this family in the same vicinity.”

He recalled the unfortunate incident of zebras being transported from Shahrood to Garmsar in 2017 and attributed it to the injection of an overdose of anesthetic and not using the experiences of environmentalists who had worked in this field for years.

But the end of this training program was to thank 2 citizens of Shahrudi who, last month, during the loss of a cheetah cub on the Abbas Abad road in Miami, by being present around the clock with the rangers by creating lighting and warning drivers, they tried to find the mother cheetah if they saw it. and the accompanying puppy, move them away from the danger zone.

In the end, this seminar ended like any other program, but it can be the beginning of a transformation to know more about this valuable capital of the country in the continuation of other efforts to save the lions.