In this photo provided by Iranian Students’ News AgencyISNA, Iran’s only Asiatic cheetah cub in captivity, lies in Pardesan Park in Peroz, Tehran, Iran. File | Photo credit: AP
Iran’s only Asiatic cheetah cub died on February 28 after days of treatment for kidney failure, local media reported.
Peroz, 10 months old, was the sole survivor of his litter of three endangered Asiatic cheetahs. He was the subject of widespread debate online. semi-official Tasnim News Agency It was reported on Tuesday that several days of treatment failed to save him.
“I apologize on behalf of the team because we failed to save his life,” the agency quoted Omid Moradi, head of Tehran’s Central Vet Hospital, as saying. Peroz and his companion were the first Asiatic cheetahs to be born in captivity in Iran. They were born in Turan Wildlife Sanctuary in Semnan Province under the strict supervision of Iran’s Environment Agency.
Iran has long sought to save the Asiatic cheetah, one of the world’s most endangered species. The United Nations is helping the government step up its efforts to save the species.
The Asiatic cheetah, an equally fast cousin of the African cat, once ranged from the Red Sea to India. Over the past century, its numbers have dwindled to an estimated 50 to 70 animals in Iran. That’s down from 400 in the 1990s. Its numbers declined due to poaching, its main prey – gazelle – and encroachment on its habitat.
Cheetahs have also been hit by cars and killed in fights with sheep dogs, as shepherds are allowed to graze their flocks in areas where cheetahs live.
