After six long years, the sighting and documentation of an Asiatic cheetah in the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge has brought valuable lessons for conserving this endangered species.
Miandasht, once the second most important breeding habitat for cheetahs in Iran, lost its entire population after the tragic roadkill of its last dominant male six years ago. Despite its small size, this habitat had long supported at least one and sometimes two cheetah families, thanks to its substantial prey base.
During these cheetah-less years, while many lost hope for their return, the park director and rangers never wavered in their commitment to conservation.
They worked tirelessly to increase prey numbers and resolve fundamental issues, protecting the area as if cheetahs were still present. This unwavering hope and effort have been the most profound lessons from this event.
For six years, we conducted camera trapping in the region without a single cheetah image, yet we never ceased supporting the area. The return of the cheetah reaffirms the critical importance of meticulously conserving corridors that allow cheetahs to reach former habitats. These corridors are vital lifelines between the Touran biosphere reserve, which is a source of the cheetah population, and other habitats.
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