Only 17 Asiatic cheetahs remain in Iran, environmental chief warns

Only 17 Asiatic cheetahs remain in the world and all reside within Iran, according to the head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organization, putting the species to the brink of extinction.

Shina Ansari made the announcement during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony with the Traffic Police, emphasizing the urgent need for collaborative action.

Ansari highlighted the crucial role of inter-agency cooperation, particularly from the Traffic Police, in safeguarding the remaining cheetah population. She stressed the necessity of enforcing speed limits within cheetah habitats to mitigate the risk of fatal collisions with vehicles.

A section of the Abbasabad to Mashhad road in northern-northeastern Iran cuts through one of the most vital cheetah habitats, resulting in annual cheetah deaths due to vehicular impact.

Ansari acknowledged the Traffic Police's recent efforts to implement safe speed reductions in the area, a collaborative measure with the Environmental Protection Organization.

Road accidents, responsible for 52% of cheetah deaths, continue to threaten the endangered species due to the Iranian Department of Environment's inaction. In other countries, protective measures such as road fencing and the construction of wide overpasses in natural habitats have been adopted to ensure the safe passage of animals.

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"We need to protect these valuable cheetahs," Ansari noted, expressing hope that the partnership with the Traffic Police will continue and expand to encompass the protection of all wildlife within Iran.

Once dispersed across vast areas of Asia, the Iranian cheetah is now listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as a species on the brink of extinction, confined to remote regions in central Iran. A 2021-2023 survey had put the number of cheetahs to 26.