1st Asiatic Cheetahs Born in Captivity Delivered in Iran
An Asiatic cheetah gave birth to three healthy cubs, a first in captivity for the endangered species, Ali Salajegheh, the head of the environment department at Touran Wildlife Refuge, in Iran’s Semnan province east of Tehran, said on Sunday. The cubs were delivered by cesarean section.
Cheetahs, the world’s fastest land animal, can reach speeds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour. They once had a range that stretched from eastern India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal, but they have all but disappeared from North Africa and Asia.
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Iran began its UN-supported protection program in 2001. The Asiatic subspecies (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is critically endangered. In January, Iran’s Deputy Environment Minister Hassan Akbari said their situation was “extremely critical” and that the animals were dying off because of drought, hunters, and car accidents.
The new mother, confusingly named “Iran,” is one of only a dozen cheetahs found in Iran, where an estimated 100 of the fast felines lived as recently as 2010. “This is the first birth of an Asiatic cheetah in captivity,” Salajegheh said. “By preserving these cubs, we can increase the cheetah population in captivity and then in semi-captivity,” he added.
