Conservation
Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, wildlife conservation was given a lower priority. The Asiatic cheetah and its principal prey, gazelles, were hunted, resulting in a rapid decline. Its prey was also pushed out as herders entered game reserves with their herds. As a result, the Asiatic cheetah is now listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Some surveys by Asadi in the latter half of 1997 show that urgent action is required to rehabilitate wildlife populations, especially gazelles and their habitat if the Asiatic cheetah is to survive. They are confined to the desert areas around Dasht-e-Kavir in the eastern half of Iran. Most live in five sanctuaries: Kavir National Park, Touran National Park, Bafq Protected Area, Daranjir Wildlife Reserve, and Naybandan Wildlife Reserve. Photos from camera traps show that some females travel long distances between reserves–one female migrated 130 km, a journey which included crossing a railway and two major roads.
Read more about this topic: Asiatic Cheetah
Famous quotes containing the word conservation:
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)