Iran’s Sole Surviving Endangered Asiatic Cheetah Cub Dies of Kidney Failure

The sole survivor of three endangered Asiatic cheetah cubs born in Iran has died from acute kidney failure. The cub, named Pirouz, which means “victorious” in Persian, was born in captivity and had captured the imagination of Iranians throughout the country. Only about 20 of the cubs are left in the wild in Iran, down from about 100 a dozen years ago. The cub, nearly 10 months old, had begun kidney dialysis in a veterinary hospital in Tehran on Monday night but died on Tuesday morning. Pirouz’s two siblings died within two weeks of their birth; the cubs had been rejected by their mother. Some tens of thousands of Iranians went on social media on Tuesday to mourn the death of Pirouz. The Asiatic cheetah is one of the symbols of Iran.