Status of the Asiatic cheetah in Iran
Prior to World War II, the cheetah was believed to occur in almost all of the steppes and desert areas of the eastern and some western regions of Iran near the Iraqi border (Harrington
1971), which was equal to two-thirds of the country area (Jourabchian and Farhadinia
2008). In 1959, the Iranian Game Council, the statutory wildlife authority at the time, declared the cheetah protected by law and there followed a period of dedicated conservation effort (Firouz
1974). In the 1970s, the cheetah’s range was regarded as essentially intact drylands of eastern half of Iran (Firouz
1971,
1974). Thus, parallel to the disappearance of the last Asiatic cheetahs outside Iran by the end of 1970s (Nowell and Jackson
1996; Roberts
1997; Habibi
2003; Mallon
2007), the species was still widespread in Iran, albeit in low densities dispersed over a vast area. They were presumed to have an increasing population trend by the end of 1970s, due to sound conservation efforts (Dareshuri and Harrington
1976; Mowlavi
1985).
The civil revolution in 1979 and subsequent eight year war with Iraq effectively ceased organized wildlife conservation activities in Iran. Except for some limited surveys in the late 1990s (e.g., Karami
1992; Asadi
1997; Dareshuri
1997; Jowkar
1999; Jourabchian
1999), the species did not attract dedicated research and protection effort until 2001. To our knowledge, the cheetah was photographed only three times in Iran during the 1980s and 1990s, and it was assumed to have almost disappeared from the entire country (Jackson
1998). By mid 1990s, the Asiatic cheetah was thought to reside in only a few, mostly disjunct areas cumulatively comprising almost 38,000 km
2 (Asadi
1997; Jourabchian and Farhadinia
2008; Ziaie
2008).
The global distribution of the Asiatic cheetah is today restricted to Iran’s central plateau where it inhabits approximately 242,500 km2. We consider this as a best estimate, as it contains large areas of low quality habitat which are of very limited ecological value to large mammals, and are largely devoid of records of cheetahs. The known range of the Asiatic cheetah expanded considerably over the 2000s, mainly due to increased survey effort rather than actual range recovery or expansion.
It appears the current range of the cheetah in Iran comprises three main population nuclei (Moqanaki and Cushman
2016; Farhadinia et al.
2016b), namely Southern Landscape (including Bafq PA, Dareh Anjir WR, Siahkouh NP and PA, Kalmand PA, Abbas Abad WR, Ariz NHA, Kamki Bahabad NHA, Rafsanjan County, Boshrouyeh County, and the complex of Naybandan WR and Darband WR), Northern Landscape (Touran BR and five smaller areas around, namely Dorouneh PA, Miandasht WR, Khosh Yeilagh WR, Chah Shirin NHA and Takhti Iran NHA) and Kavir. Located at the north-west limit of the species’ current range, the latter is distant from the two main population nuclei with very few cheetahs and irregular records of breeding. It is urgent to establish whether movement corridors exist between Kavir NP and the rest of cheetah distribution in the country (Moqanaki and Cushman
2016).
While the introduction of camera trapping to Iran in 2001 has considerably improved knowledge of the cheetah’s distribution, robust population estimates remain elusive. Asiatic cheetahs occur in extremely low densities, move vast distances and inhabit open, arid habitat where it is challenging to locate productive sites for camera-traps. Conventional mark-recapture models are extremely difficult to apply due to the resulting very low detection probability, particularly for females.
Direct threats to cheetahs
Based on available records of cheetah casualties (n = 42) between 2001 and 2012, anthropogenic factors accounted for the largest proportion of known mortalities. Local herders are currently the single most important cause of human-induced mortalities, typically in association with herd dogs. Herders in Iran make little effort to control dogs and they are known to freely harass wildlife, including cheetahs (Asadi
1997; Ziaie
2008). While evidence of cheetah depredation on domestic animals is uncommon in Iran (Karami
1992; Farhadinia et al.
2012,
2016b), most of the herder-mediated casualties are considered to be due to the cheetah being perceived as a threat to livestock.
Encounters between herders and cheetahs are presumably rare given the latter’s extremely low densities, and avoidance of people. There are, for example, no known records of cheetahs harassing livestock in villages or corrals. Additionally, the Iranian authorities impose very strong deterrents for the killing of cheetahs, including jail time and high fines (currently 1billion IRR equal to US$ 28,570; Farhadinia et al.
2016b) which might be expected to suppress illegal behavior.
Almost equally important as a source of mortality is Iran’s extensive and rapidly growing network of roads. It is especially prevalent in Touran BR and Kalmand PA which accounted for 75% of the country’s cheetah road deaths between 2001 and 2012. Major highways do not occur in or near all other cheetah reserves which have local roads with less traffic, somewhat mitigating the risk of road collisions for cheetahs (Moqanaki and Cushman
2016).
Clearly, our mortality figures represent a minimum estimate and some mortality sources are likely under-represented in our figures. Anthropogenic killing of cheetahs by herders occurs illicitly, usually in remote sites and attempts to conceal the event are often made i.e., cheetah carcasses were removed or burned in 56.3% of the herder-caused casualties. Accordingly, this threat is likely to be underestimated in our mortality.
Intentional shooting or poisoning of cheetahs seem uncommon in Iran, possibly because encountering cheetahs in the wild is a rare, accidental event. Most poaching cases in our database result from trapping and poisoning, in which cheetah was probably not the intended target. Furthermore, there is no evidence of trade in cheetahs from Iran to Persian Gulf’s Arab states in contrast to well-known export routes from north-east Africa (Nowell
2014). However, there have been occasional rumors of cheetah shooting in remote areas, which have never been confirmed, possibly because of the incurred very high penalty (currently 1billion IRR equal to US$ 28,570). Nevertheless, in the context of a very small and declining population size, any targeted poaching by people is extremely concerning.
In contrast, we believe we have accounted for most road fatalities which are difficult to conceal, although it is impossible to rule out occasional cases of collection of road-killed cheetahs by the public (which is illegal in Iran). In contrast, many cheetahs dying of natural causes in the field are never found and do not attract the same level of attention as anthropogenic deaths. Although this biases our data towards anthropogenic mortality factors, it is nonetheless evident that frequent human-mediated deaths comprise a very significant cause for concern for the few remaining members of this population.
Conservation implications
Cheetah in Iran are presently restricted to extremely arid regions where they show nomadic ranging behavior, covering several reserves (Farhadinia et al.
2016a). Therefore, efforts to protect the cheetahs and their prey must be coordinated at both national as well as defined landscape levels, rather than within reserves, because they are likely to share the same individuals. Such an approach needs to account for the importance of both core areas and movement corridors.
In the immediate term, it is essential that the main sources of anthropogenic mortality are reduced. Firstly, we believe that dogs should be reduced significantly from the cheetah protected areas through a participatory process in which herders’ concerns are addressed. Requiring mandatory attendance at education workshops intended to address herders’ behavior of harassing the cheetahs (and other wildlife) could be linked to the permissions required by the Iranian government for grazing in protected areas.
In concert with this process, incentives linked to conservation outcomes must be explored with herding communities. A compensation program for depredation on livestock by carnivores is run by the Iranian DoE/CACP. As a supplementary solution, it would also be interesting to assess the viability of rewarding herders for cheetah sightings and information. Performance-payment type programs, such as those run for wolverines
Gulo gulo in Sweden (Persson et al.
2015) as well as raising livestock productivity through gratis livestock vaccinations may improve co-existence between cheetahs and communities. An effective vaccination program would also help address disease transmission between livestock and wild ungulates which has previously resulted in mortalities of cheetah prey in Iranian protected areas (Schaller and O’Brien
2001).
To date, efforts to reduce road collisions of cheetahs have focused on signage, advising drivers to reduce speed and stay alert for cheetahs crossing. However, their effectiveness has not been assessed but it is likely that larger-scale solutions are required (Mohammadi and Kaboli
2016). Wildlife crossings, overpasses and underpasses have reduced mortality and increased connectivity for large carnivores elsewhere (see Grilo et al.
2015 for a review). Their effectiveness relies, inter alia, on targeting collision hotspots for which some data already exist. Most documented cheetah road deaths have occurred on a small number of known stretches of highway passing through hilly terrain far from flat, open areas (Mohammadi and Kaboli
2016).
While our review focuses on the direct threats to cheetahs, serious indirect threats also affect the species, primarily through impacts on habitat suitability and prey abundance. The key indirect factor currently affecting cheetah numbers in Iran is thought to be the disappearance of prey (Hunter et al.
2007; Breitenmoser et al.
2009; Farhadinia et al.
2012) due to human hunting, and the loss of habitat due to the combined effects of livestock overgrazing and drought (Karami
1992; Asadi
1997; Ziaie
2008). Thus, controlling anthropogenic threats to wild ungulates is crucial, particularly ongoing illegal poaching which is still a serious threat (Breitenmoser et al.
2009). Moreover, overgrazing by livestock must be addressed more effectively to revise and control existing grazing permissions which are based on historical right of access rather than the actual carrying capacity of dryland pasture. Related to this, it would be extremely useful to review the present regime of artificial water sources inside cheetah distribution and how they are used by the cheetahs, prey species and livestock.
Finally, within cheetah range, the most rapid and extensive development is driven by the mining sector’s exploration and exploitation activities. Compounding the immediate loss of important habitat, mining requires the construction of new roads and railways increasing the vulnerability of cheetahs to accidents and facilitating access for poachers.
Our research highlights the importance of a centralized monitoring program for cheetahs in Iran. The present paper is the first to compile data derived from different methods, i.e., camera trapping, opportunistic photos, and citizen science data, and it provides the basis for a more coordinated monitoring program. Monitoring, particularly by means of camera traps has been extremely useful for identifying important sites for cheetahs and has helped direct conservation efforts at those sites. However, these data are very limited in providing cheetah population estimates and detecting changes in population status (Breitenmoser et al.
2009). To overcome these challenges, we recommend a coordinated, long-term monitoring program for Iran’s principal cheetah areas. Such a program should establish long-term fixed monitoring stations (i.e., camera sites) across the most important cheetah sites, all of which would be surveyed during the same survey window each year, thus providing a consistent minimum annual count of cheetahs across the majority of known cheetah range at the same time. Comparisons over subsequent years are expected to provide information of trends in the population, and supply other useful information including demographic parameters and population dynamics over time (Karanth et al.
2006).
In contrast to approximately 11% of former range hosting the African cheetahs (Durant et al.
2015), the current area for the Asiatic cheetahs still encompasses almost 23.2% of their historic range. Accordingly, while we acknowledge that the extant Asiatic cheetah population is extremely small and fragile, availability of vast expanses of habitat is a major hope for conservation of the Asiatic cheetah. Iran should be congratulated in its efforts to conserve the last Asiatic cheetahs, but the future of this unique population is by no means assured. Undoubtedly, the Asiatic cheetah will remain entirely dependent on effective conservation actions in which increased coordination at the national level and greater investment from the international conservation community will be essential.