Asiatic Cheetah

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Asiatic Cheetah


Asiatic Cheetah

The critically endangered “Asiatic Cheetah”, what is being done for its conservation and the importance of modern technologies like cloning in wildlife conservation today.

Original Article was written & submitted to Wikipedia

By Atul Singh Nischal


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

may still be available on the website of Wikipedia too, the free encyclopedia

at the following webaddress as the original has sice been edited to suite general interest readers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443

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The original version that I wrote and submitted and the one I am posting in this blog is version number:

00:50, 13 September 2006 Atulsnischal; of the Asiatic Cheetah Article/Page on Wikipedia:

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1- The Asiatic Cheetah main page originally I created but edited since, current version edited from myne to suite general interest readers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Cheetah

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Asiatic Cheetah, also called Iranian Cheetah or Indian Cheetah
Conservation status: Critical

Scientific classification

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Carnivora

Family:

Felidae

Subfamily:

Acinonychinae

Genus:

Acinonyx
Brookes, 1828

Species:

A. jubatus

Subspecies:

A. j. venaticus

Trinomial name

Acinonyx jubatus venaticus

Asiatic Cheetah

The critically endangered “Asiatic Cheetah”, what is being done for its conservation and the importance of modern technologies like cloning in wildlife conservation today.

Original Article was written & submitted to Wikipedia

By Atul Singh NischalAt the very brink of complete Extinction is the , also known as the in where the very last 50 to 60 are said to be living today in a vast fragmented desert habitat. Although recently extinct in it is also known as the
Asiatic CheetahIranian CheetahIranIndiaIndian Cheetah. India is eager reintroduce the Asiatic Cheetah to her wilds with the help of Iran and has invested in infrastructure to clone the Asiatic Cheetah. Indian scientists at the The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) are working on the Cheetah cloning project.

The (from cītā, derived from word meaning "Speckled"), this Asiatic Cheetah subspecie () is also an atypical member of the cat family () that hunts by speed rather than by stealth or pack tactics. It is the fastest of all land animals and can reach speeds of up to 70 (112 /h)-San Diego Facts Links-. The cheetah is well known for its amazing acceleration (0-100 in 3.5 seconds which is faster than the , the and the ).CheetahHindiचीताSanskritchitrakaAcinonyx jubatus venaticusFelidaemphkmkm/hSLR McLarenLamborghini MurciélagoF/A-18 Hornet

Cheetahs are found in the wild primarily in today, but in the past their range extended into northern and southern . Conservationists using camera traps have recently discovered surviving populations of in and are taking steps to protect them. In much of their former range they were by and used to hunt and in much the same way as is still done with members of the group of . Aside from an estimated 50 to 60 Asiatic Cheetah living in the , the distribution of cheetahs is now limited to . There are 5 of cheetah in the genus Acinonyx: four in and one in , the Asiatic Cheetah. The endangered and almost extinct Asiatic Cheetah subspecies lives in . In 1990, there were reports in the of an Asiatic Cheetah sighting in . There is a chance some Asiatic Cheetah remain in , though it is very doubtful. There have also been reports of these Asiatic Cheetah in the of , though these continue to be unverified. The cheetah prefers to live in an open , such as semi-, , and thick brush.AfricaIndiaAsiatic cheetahIrandomesticatedaristocratsantelopeGazellesgreyhounddogsIranAfricasubspeciesAfricaIranAcinonyx jubatus venaticusIranTimes of Indiaeastern IndiaIndiaBalochistanProvincePakistanbiotopedesertprairie

often kept Asiatic Cheetah as pets. They were also tamed and trained for hunting. Cheetahs would be taken to hunting fields in low-sided bullock carts or by horseback, hooded and blind folded, and kept on leashes while dogs flushed out their prey. When the prey was near enough, the cheetahs would be released and their blind-folds removed. This tradition of hunting with the Asiatic Cheetah was passed on to the ancient and carried to . This practice continued into the twentieth century by Indian princes who specially enjoyed hunting the local Indian the and with their trained Asiatic Cheetah. Cheetahs continued to be associated with royalty and elegance, their use as pets spreading just as their hunting skills were. Other such princes and kings kept them as pets, including and , who boasted of having kept cheetahs within their palace grounds. As recently as the 1930s the of , , was often photographed leading a cheetah by a leash.Ancient EgyptiansPersiansIndiaGazellesBlackbuckChinkaraGengis KhanCharlemagneEmperorAbyssiniaHaile Selassie

Contents

  • 1Classification: Acinonyx jubatus venaticus
  • 2Asiatic, Iranian, or Indian cheetah
  • 3Other names
  • 4Color morphs
  • 5A Critically endangered subspecies
    • 6Photos
    • 6.1In the news
    • 7Description
    • 8Habitats in Iran, where the only known population is thought to survive today
    • 9Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP)
    • 10Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)
    • 11Collaring for radio-telemetry studies
    • 12"Capturing" the Asiatic Cheetah for Collaring or Captive Breeding programs
    • 13Captive Breeding of Cheetahs is “Notoriously Difficult”
    • 14Links
    • 15Related Sites
    • 16Latest news & developments
    • 17See also
    • 18Cloning
      • 19Plans to clone
      • 19.1News articles
      • 20Indian infrastructure and related links for cloning and links on endangered species conservation
      • 21An appeal to governments, scientists & naturelovers
      • 22References and "Fair use" citation of copied text

        Classification: Acinonyx jubatus venaticus

        "Acinonyx jubatus venaticus". The name, , means "no-move-claw" in , while the name, , means "maned" in , a reference to the mane found in cheetah cubs. Even when retracted, the claws remain visible and are used for grip during the cheetah's acceleration and maneuvering, performing the same function as canine claws.genusAcinonyxGreekspeciesjubatusLatin

        The word "Cheetah", its popular name, comes from the Indian language , which is perhaps derived from , meaning "the spotted one". Asiatic Cheetah were found over most of till recently and now only a remanent population of 50 to 60 survives only in . Other major use variants of the medieval , meaning "cat-leopard i.e spotted cat": ; ; and (also used ); and .EnglishHindichiitaaSanskritchitrakaIndiaIranEuropeanlanguagesLatingattus pardusFrenchguépardItalianghepardoSpanishPortugueseguepardochitaGermanGepard
        • Population Status

          • Asiatic Cheetah "Acinonyx jubatus venaticus" is a subspecie of with only an estimated population of 50 to 60 remaining in the wild according to the latest estimates (2005-2006), all of them in and none in Captivity in any zoo around the world.Critically EndangeredCheetahIran

          Global: Category 3(A) Regional: Category 1(A) IUCN: Endangered

          Cheetahs were probably extirpated in the following countries during the mid- to late 1900s: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, and Yemen (Wrogemann 1975, Kraus and Marker-Kraus 1991: see Figure 2). A small, isolated population may persist in ’s Qatarra Depression (IUCN 1976, Kraus and Marker-Kraus 1991, Amman 1993).Egypt

          In , B. Dareshuri estimates the Iranian population to be fewer than 50, with the north-eastern being the stronghold (Karami 1992). The population has declined steeply in recent years; there were said to be over 200 cheetahs in in the mid-1970s (E. Firouz, pers. comm. 1974), although some experts consider this figure an over-estimate (P.Joslin, pers.comm.)Iran of provinceKhorasanIran

          Various proposals have been put forward to re-stock depleted areas with cheetahs of Sub-Saharan stock (e.g., , , and ), but conserving extant populations is the priority. In addition, reintroduction should not be seriously considered until genetic comparisons (Hemmer 1988) and environmental impact evaluations have been carried out. The advice of the IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group should be obtained.IsraelIndiaTurkmenistanUzbekistan
          • Principal Threats

            • The cheetahs of and the exist in very low numbers, divided into widely separated populations. Their low density makes them particularly vulnerable to reduction of antelope prey through livestock overgrazing and hunting, coupled with direct persecution (cheetahs prey on livestock, especially young camels: K. de Smet pers. comm.). While protected areas comprise a key component of cheetah range, management needs to be improved. For example, grazing of domestic stock is reported to be particularly serious in ’s Khosh Yeilagh Reserve (Karami 1992), once known to hold an important resident cheetah population (Harrington 1977).IranSaharaIran

            Cheetahs native to and South-West Asia are not known to be held in captivity.North Africa

            Asiatic, Iranian, or Indian cheetah The "Asiatic Cheetah" once ranged from to , through , central , and , and, particularly in and the Indian subcontinent, it was numerous. Cheetahs were easy to train, and rulers kept huge numbers for hunting . The Moghul Emperor of , Akbar, is said to have had 1,000 at a time. It appears in many Persian and Indian miniature paintings. But by 1900 it was already headed for extinction in many areas. The last physical evidence of cheetahs in was three shot (with two bullets) by the Maharajah of Surguja in 1947 in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Certain researchers consider the decline in the local Indian population of as the reason behind the Asiatic Cheetah getting extinct in . By 1990, cheetahs appeared to survive only in . Estimated to number over 200 during the 1970s, current estimates by Iranian biologist Hormoz Asadi put the number at 50 to 100. (Latest figures for year 2005-2006 are just a total 50 to 60 prpbably remaining alive, all in ) ArabiaIndia, ArabiaIranAsiaAfghanistanPakistanIrangazellesIndiaIndiagazelleChinkaraIndiaIranIran

            Following the Islamic Revolution of 1978, wildlife conservation was relegated to a back seat; reserves were invaded by livestock, which overgrazed the land, while both cheetahs and their principal prey, gazelles, were ruthlessly hunted, resulting in a rapid decline. As a result, the Asiatic cheetah is now listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Initial 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 cheetah is to survive.

            As a top predator, at the peak of food chains, the cheetah serves as a flagship for conservation efforts beneficial for biodiversity throughout its range. An agreement for cooperation has been reached between the Department of Environment, Islamic Republic of Iran, the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. Detailed surveys to map the distribution of cheetahs and associated wildlife, especially gazelles, and to assess the status of wild habitats are about to start, leading to recommendations to ’s Department of Environment for conservation of the cheetah as part of the country’s biodiversity. An educational and public awareness campaign, based on the cheetah, but encompassing the need for environmental conservation for the benefit of people, will be carried out. The cheetah is in dire straits in , but all is not lost. Determined efforts, with international support, can ensure its future. However, the cheetah has to be viewed in the broad scene of the natural environment and its wildlife. There has been extensive deterioration of habitat through over-grazing by livestock. A million licensed guns, for which hunters received 300 rounds a year, plus probably two million more illegally held, represent a grave threat to all wildlife, including the cheetah and its main prey, gazelles. Protected areas have suffered from livestock invasion, and the owners see cheetahs as a threat to be eliminated if possible. Protected areas have suffered from livestock invasion, and the owners see cheetahs as a threat to be killed if the opportunity occurs. Additionally, cheetahs are known to have collapsed and died as a result of pursuit by people in cars and on motorcycles. Guards are too few to provide protection.IranIran

            Other names

            Indian Cheetah (English); Iranian / Persian Cheetah (English); chita, laggar (Hindi: India); yuz, yuz palang (Farsi or Persian: Iran); fahd al sayad (Arabic); yeoz (Brahui: Pakistan); gurk (Mekrani: Pakistan); pulam (Bukharian & Turkmenian); tazy palang (Dari: Afghanistan); tazy prang (Pashto: Afghanistan); ala bars, pyestrai or pyatnistai bars (Kazakh); myallen, koplon (Uzbek); Asiaskii gepard (Russian); adèle amayas (Tamahaq, Tamacheq [Touareg]: North-West Sahara); guépard (French); Gepard (German); guepardo, chita (Spanish);

            Color morphs

            Other rare color morphs included speckled cheetahs, cheetahs, cheetahs and grayish cheetahs. Most were reported in Indian cheetahs / Asiatic Cheetah, particularly in captive specimens kept for hunting.melanisticalbino

            The of , Jahangir, recorded having a white Asiatic Cheetah presented to him in 1608. In the memoirs of Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, the Emperor says that in the third year of his reign: This suggests a chinchilla mutation which restricts the amount of pigment on the hair shaft. Although the spots were formed of black pigment, the less dense pigmentation gives a hazy, grayish effect. As well as Jahangir's white Asiatic Cheetah at , a report of "incipient albinism" has come from Beaufort West according to Guggisberg.Mughal EmperorIndiaRaja Bir Singh Deo brought a white cheetah to show me. Although other sorts of creatures, both birds and beasts have white varieties .... I had never seen a white cheetah. Its spots, which are (usually) black, were of a blue colour, and the whiteness of the body also inclined to blue-ishness.Agra

            A Critically endangered subspecies

            The "Asiatic Cheetah" is a subspecies once found throughout and into , and now restricted to a few locations in and perhaps and .Critically EndangeredSouthwest AsiaIndiaIranPakistanAfghanistan

            In , biologists have estimated that perhaps as few as 50 cheetah remain. The Cat Specialist Group is developing a research and conservation program in cooperation with 's Department of Environment. The Iranian Cheetah Society's website features current news about the efforts to save this rarest of the big cats.IranIran

            In January 2001, Ali Reza Jourabchian of ’s Dept. of Environment captured the first images of the Asiatic cheetah in the wild on film since the early 1970s. This family was seen near Tabas, in Khorasan province.Iran

            Reports of cheetahs still existing in the Balochistan region of have not been borne out by a recent CAT-sponsored survey of the southern part of the province. Gazelles have become very rare due to overhunting, and no cheetahs have been seen by locals for 15-20 years.Pakistan

            Analysis of Asiatic Cheetah genetics may shed light on the evolutionary history of the cheetah, which has resulted in its unusual genetic uniformity.

            Project reports and background information
            • Syed Tasvir Husain. 2001 Survey for the Asiatic cheetah in Balochistan province, . Final report to CAT and the Barbara Delano Foundation.
              • Pakistan
            • Genetics and conservation of the Saharan cheetah. Project proposal by Anne-Marie Drieux-Dumont of the Fonds de Conservation du Guépard, funded in 2002.
            • Cat Action Plan species account for Cheetah in and .
              • North AfricaSouthwest Asia
            • Extinction record: Cat Action Plan map of the past and present range of the Asiatic cheetah.
            • The environmental limitations and future of the Asiatic cheetah in . 1997. Hormoz Assadi, CSG Asiatic Cheetah Project report.
              • Iran
            • Read about how cheetahs were trained to hunt for the nobility in ancient in historian Divyabhanusinh's book, The End of a Trail: The Cheetah in .
              • IndiaIndia
            • As late as the World War II period, the tradition was carried on by Indian royal families, as described in this excerpt from Shri RS Dharmakumarsinhji's memoirs.
            • The last record for the cheetah in dates to 1948, when a raja (King) shot three from his motorcar at night. Article from the Journal of Natural History.
              • IndiaBombay

              Photos
              • Photos of Asiatic Cheetah in the wild in obtained through placing camera traps from the “gallery” section of the website of “Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP)”, Government of Iran:
                • Iranhttp://cheetah.irandoe.org/gallery/index.html
                • Photos of Asiatic Cheetah in the wild in obtained through placing camera traps from the “gallery” section of the website of “Iranian Cheetah Society(ICS)”, an important NGO:
                  • Iranhttp://www.iraniancheetah.org/photogallery.htm

                  In the news
                  • "Asiatic cheetahs caught on camera"

                    • It's amazing what a remote camera will pick up. BBC News: Last Updated: , : Wednesday, 31 August 200512:37 GMT13:37UKhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4201180.stm

                    Description

                    The cheetah has a slender slim body and broad chest and a highly set abdomen, which resembles a hound. The Cheetah is, however, distinct from canids for its small and domed head with a short snout and small ears. In general, one can call it "a feline with canid head". Its back coat is light yellow to yellowish-amber and her underbody-coat is creamy white. Cheetah has full circular black spots with relatively short coarse fur. In adults, moving toward the end, the tail spots change to black rings, with the last ring as the widest. The cheetah's head is small and round and her eyes are set high on the skull. A pair of distinct black “tear marks” run from the corners of the eyes down the sides of the nose to the mouth, possibly keeping the sun out of the cheetah’s eyes, that helps her in hunting. Unlike other cats, the adult Cheetahs have dull, semi-retractable claws, although the young Cheetah – until about the first 6 months of their lives - are able to retract their claws.
                    • Size: Adult head and body length 112-137 cm; tail length 64-86 cm; shoulder height 71-74 cm; weight 34-54 kg. The male is slightly larger than the female (this measurement refers to the Asian population).
                      • Specializations: The cheetah’s flexible spine, oversized liver, enlarged heart, wide nostrils, increased lung capacity and thin, muscular body make this cat the swiftest hunter of world. The cheetah can reach a speed of 110 km/h in seconds.
                        • Habitat: Cheetahs thrive in open lands, small plains, semi-desert areas and other open habitats where prey is available. In , the few remaining Asiatic Cheetahs are found on the edge of central Kavir desert.
                          • Iran
                          • Social Behavior: Cheetahs have a unique social order. They have not been studied in yet. Studies in have shown that females live alone except when they are raising cubs. The female raises the cubs on her own. The first 18 months of a cub’s life are important; cubs learn many lessons because survival depends on knowing how to hunt wild prey species and how to avoid other predators such as leopards, hyenas and wolves
                            • IranAfrica

                            At 18 months the mother leaves the cubs, who then form a sibling group that may stay together for another 6 months. At about 2 years, the female siblings leave the group and the young males remain together for life. Males live alone or in coalition made up of brothers from the same litter but adult female are solitary except when accompanied by cubs. Some coalitions maintain territories in order to find females with which to mate. Territories are often located in areas where there is a sufficient supply of wild game and/or water. Fierce fights between male coalitions, resulting in serious injury or death, can occur when defending territories.

                            Cheetahs are usually diurnal, hunting in the cool morning and early evening. They approach their prey within 10-30 meters, and then begin the chase. The cheetah suffocates its prey by biting the underside of the throat. Chases last about 20 seconds and rarely longer than 1 minute and cannot continue a chase for more than about 500 m. About half of the chases are successful. Occasionally, other predators such as wolves steal the prey form the Cheetah. Unlike the leopard, the Cheetah is unable to hide its food from other carnivores, thus after each meal, in most cases the Cheetah loses its leftover food.
                            • Breeding: Sexual maturity occurs at about 20 months. The gestation period is 95 days, and the litter size is 1-6 (usually 4-5 cubs). The cubs are up to 30 cm long and weight approximately 300 g at birth. They are smoky-gray in color with long hair, called mantle, running along their backs. The mantle serves several purposes; it is thought to help camouflage the cub in the dry grass, hiding it from predators. It is also thought to work as a mimicry defense, making the cubs resemble honey badgers (ratel)-- an aggressive animal. Because the cubs are able to retract their claws until the age 6 months, they are able to climb to the safety of trees.
                              • Diet: In Iran Asiatic Cheetah's diet consists mainly of , , , , and .
                                • Jebeer gazelleGoitered Gazellewild sheepwild goatcape hare

                                The ’s range is restricted to the Central Iranian Plateau, with an estimated population of 60 adult cheetahs remaining. The main threat to the Asiatic cheetah is loss of their primary prey species, (Gazella dorcas), (Gazella subgothrosa), (Ovis orientalis) and (Capra aegagrus), due to poaching and grazing competition with domestic livestock. Habitat loss from mining development and poaching of Asiatic Cheetahs also threaten their populations in . "Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)" and the "Department of Enavironment , (DoE)" hope to begin collaring Asiatic Cheetahs in the fall of 2006.Asiatic cheetahgebeer gazellegoitered gazelleurial sheepwild goatIranIran

                                Habitats in , where the only known population is thought to survive todayIran

                                The primary habitat of cheetah in is the -e- Kavir, which includes parts of , Khorasan, Semnan, , and Markazi provinces. Currently, this vast arid and dry desert area has become the last refuge for the Asiatic Cheetah. During the last two decades, the reported sightings of the Cheetahs in this vast area has dramatically been reduced. In particular, a few reports have been submitted of sightings in the Kavir National Park, Touran region, Naybandan Wildlife Refuge,Dar-e Anjir, Miandasht and Khosh Yeylagh. The spread of Cheetah sightings in recent years seems particularly less compared to the vast regions reported Cheetah activities between the years 1967-78, which included:Iran of desertDashtKermanYazdTehran

                                Tehran (Kavir National Park), Semnan (Touran, Khosh Yeylagh and vicinity), Khorasan (Miandasht and Tabas region), Yazd (Kalmand, Bafgh, Mehriz, Taft, and the city of Yazd), Isfehan (Mooteh And Kolah-Gahzie) Fars (Bahram-e Goor Wildlife Reserve), Kerman (Khabr-o-Rochoon region), Mazandaran (Golestan National Park), Hormozgan (around Hajiabad), and also other undocumented reports from Sistan (around

                                Hamoon-e Saberi) and Balouchistan (Bampour) and even Naft-Shahr in province.(Jowkar, 1999)Kermanshah

                                Nowadays, the Wildlife Refuge of Naybandan-Tabas, with an area of 1,500,000 ha, is one of the few places the cheetah can find shelter from adverse elements. The in the Semnan province has also been supporting a dwindling cheetah population over the years and is still one of the main sites for the project. Dar-e Angir and Bafkh in the and the in are three other locations where the cheetah has been spotted. of national parkKhartoran of provinceYazd NationalKavirPark TehranProvince

                                Threats

                                The survival of Asiatic Cheetah faces a series of threats in . Two main reasons account for the cheetah’s degeneration. The first is habitat disturbance and degradation, including desertification in large parts of the country. National Parks and other protected areas have been hard-hit, with the maximum destruction occurring between 1978 and 1990. The second is decline in prey.Iran
                                • Habitat degradation: spreading agriculture, industries, human settlements, mining and infrastructures has altered the majority of the natural habitat of the I.R. of . Increasing numbers of livestock, introduced with no consideration for the capacity of the range and the season, has also been important in degrading pasture and lowering densities of ungulates, which are the principal prey of cheetahs. Almost all-rural people resident within the habitat of the Asiatic cheetah have goats, sheep and camels. This has been a hindrance to conservation of wildlife for quite some time, but today livestock grazing has become a widespread commercial venture, and overgrazing, including within protected areas, is common (with recurrence to commercial feeding in the dry season). Desertification has been sweeping much of the region where cheetahs are found, turning large areas into degraded environments of little or no economic or wildlife value. In such conditions, protected areas become a most obvious choice for the grazers. Today, the areas inhabited by the cheetah are fragmented and the main ones left in the I.R. of , which still support wildlife. Much of these areas is between 100-600 meters in altitude and characterized by ranges of low hills with scant vegetation. The woodlands are mostly gone; the rivers are dry, except after heavy rain, and very few wild sheep, goats, asses, gazelles and cheetahs remain.
                                  • IranIran
                                  • Non-habitat-related threats: Direct killing of wildlife in the I.R. of paralleled the increasing abundance of firearms and the use of vehicles for hunting. Most poachers are not aware of the importance of the cheetah and its prey in the ecological system, and illegal hunting appears only a minor offence to them. In addition to illegal killing, nearly one million hunting licenses are issued yearly, with an annual quota of 300 bullets provided by the State. To this should be added the commercial exploitation of certain species, e.g. gazelles, leopards, falcons, bustards, partridges, waterfowl and crocodiles, which are all too often over-harvested from the wild. Given the small number of animals that survive, poaching is a very serious threat facing the cheetah (despite the fact that poaching is banned under current laws). In each population there may be only 1-15 animals. In light of the uncertain sex ratio, poaching of any single cat could easily undermine the long-term survival of the entire population in the I.R. of . Unfortunately, control of poaching is difficult; for instance, the cheetah area is rich in commercially and industrially important minerals, which are being exploited by the Ministry of Industry & Mines. Mining itself is not a direct threat, but the construction of road networks makes cheetah areas accessible to people, including poachers.
                                    • IranIran

                                    Areas

                                    1. Kavir National Park (NP) Semnan Province 400,000 hectares 4 game posts Cheetah population: approx. 4-6 Kavir National Park is located only 50 km southwest of Tehran and is a biosphere reserve. Once called Little Africa, this area has a rich biome. The game species are gazelle dorcas and goitered gazelle, wild sheep, wild goat, hyena, leopard, wolf, cheetah and also rare species of small felids, such as sand cat and caracal.

                                    2. Kharturan National Park, Wild Life Refuge, and Biosphere Reserve Semnan Province 1,400,000 hectares 5 game posts Cheetah population: approx. 10-14 This area is a biosphere reserve and one of the most important and invaluable areas in Iran under protection of DoE. It houses a collection of almost all the famous Iranian desert game species such as gazelle dorcas and goitered gazelle, wild sheep, wild goat, hyena, leopard, wolf, cheetah and also one of two last remaining refuges for the rare Asiatic wild ass, or onager. Estimates put the number of species in this National Park to be around 250-300 heads.

                                    3. Naybandan Wildlife Refuge (WR) 1,500,000 hectares 4 game posts Cheetah population: approx. 12-15 Other game species: gazelle dorcas, wild sheep, wild goat, hare, hyena, leopard, and wolf NortheasternYazdProvince

                                    4. Bafq Protected Area (PA) Yazd Province 150,000 hectares 2 game posts Cheetah population: approx. 4-6 Bafq is located 100 km east of with an extreme dry climate. Its game species are goitered gazelle, wild sheep, wild goat, hyena, leopard, and wolfYazd

                                    5. Dar-e Anjir Wild Life Refuge (WR) Yazd Province 150,000 hectares 1 game post Cheetah population: approx. 3-5 The area has a fragile biome. Game species are gazelle dorcas, wild sheep, wild goat, fox, hyena, and leopard

                                    Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP)

                                    Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), Government of :Iran

                                    "Call for the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah"

                                    Secretariat of the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP)

                                    Every living creature is a unique and irreplaceable outcome of million years of perfection, a wonder of unmatched aesthetic value. As human beings living on this planet, we need to preserve the diversity of our world, either through donations or through other means of support. We need strategies that are scientifically studied and tempered by experience.

                                    Having gone extinct in other parts of the continent, where it once thrived in large numbers, the Asiatic Cheetah is in dire need for help. CACP was an acknowledgement of the precarious situation that the cheetah found itself in. The Project was launched August 2001 and less than 2 years remains until its termination. We invite researchers, scientists, university students, lecturers, members of Non-governmental Organizations, and all those who are concerned with environmental conservation to join us in doing what is necessary.

                                    CACP asks for your suggestions, criticisms, and practical solutions. The world would be a more harmonious place if everyone took part in the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project.

                                    About The CACP Project
                                    • Project Summary

                                      • The joint DoE & UNDP/GEF project on the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah (CAC) has been running since September 2001 in collaboration with Wild Conservation Society (WCS), Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), and International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

                                      The project hopes to secure the conservation of Asiatic Cheetah in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the related complex of rare and endangered wild species and their natural habitat with the support and collaboration of local communities. This will be achieved through a combination of collaborative management, education and awareness building, and direct action to improve enforcement of laws and regulations, and scientific research. Emergency measures to improve survival of cheetah in the immediate future will also be undertaken, so as to ensure that viable populations survive to benefit from the longer-term impacts of the core project activities. All activities will benefit from increased scientific understanding of the cheetah, it’s associated biota, the ecosystems that they inhabit, and the anthropogenic threats they face. The provision and continual improvement of this information will also constitute an important output of the project. Experience from this project will be of help to indigenous communities and environmental protection agencies in other countries in establishing effective management partnerships to protect and sustain their endangered species and habitats. GEF and the Government of the I.R. of , as well as other governments and non-governmental organizations, will also learn valuable management lessons for protection and sustainable use of fragile arid land biomes – an important thematic area of the Convention on Biological Diversity.Iran
                                      • What should be done?

                                        • Today, Asiatic Cheetah occupies an important symbolic place in the Iranian culture, so much so that the President of the Republic has specifically called for its protection. Along the same line, many International organizations have offered their technical and financial support.

                                        The importance of Collaborative Management (CM) processes at local level, and for a variety of stakeholders, cannot be overemphasized as a strategic mechanism in any proposed action plan. In fact, stakeholder involvement is at the heart of this project. In the crucial biotic territories, wildlife managers, local communities, nomadic herders, government officials (in particular, local DoE officials), environmental advocates, NGOs and local authorities will negotiate among themselves a fair share of management functions, rights and responsibilities, exploiting to the full their complementary capacities. As far as possible, the negotiation processes will pursue the coupling of environmental responsibilities (via management plans) and socio-economic benefits related to support for cheetah conservation (via Community Green Funds and micro-finance initiatives) for all the persons involved. The methodology for collaborative management that will be employed in the project is based on lessons learned in many countries, as well as in the I.R. of , and will be thoroughly adapted to the socio-cultural realities of the Iranian society.Iran

                                        Given the participatory nature of the collaborative management processes, at the current planning stage their overall products can be foreseen only in a broad way. Local collaborative management plans – including new land zoning arrangements for land use and protected areas, development of new local regulations including those that dictate resource-use, land rehabilitation initiatives and desertification prevention measures, improved enforcement of existing laws etc. – together with a number of socio-economic initiatives for the sustainable well-being of the human communities living within or in proximity to the natural habitats will be developed and implemented. Mechanisms to improve the well being of the local communities may include Community Green Funds to support alternative livelihoods, benefit-sharing of income from hunting, small eco-tourism projects, and mechanisms to provide micro-finance for local, social and economic development.

                                        There is need to set priorities, two critical immediate steps are:

                                        Education in each community

                                        Reduce issuance of annual gun licenses

                                        Website of Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), Government of Iran: http://cheetah.irandoe.org/about/index.html

                                        Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)

                                        Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), an important NGO:

                                        About ICS

                                        Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is an Iranian, independent, non-profit NGO established in Aug 2001 and works to save the last remains of the Asiatic Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus just living in , so more appropriate to be called the Iranian cheetah.Iran

                                        ICS was founded by three young enthusiast students , Mohammad Farhadinia (director), Kaveh Hatami and Morteza Eslami who all had worked since 1997 on the cheetah personally. It is based in with members from all around the country. Presently, more than 20 people are working as staff at with various skills, all interested to do something for the cheetah.Tehran ICSCheetahCenter

                                        ICS is committed to the following goals:
                                        • Public awareness about the cheetah and its associated biota through education mainly at the local communities
                                        • Reducing human-cheetah conflict via implementing socio-economic plans
                                        • Biological surveys to know more about the Iranian cheetah
                                        • Conserving the cheetah in its natural habitats, particularly through public participation.

                                          • ICS has focused a considerable part of its energy on two habitats as ICS Pilot Sites, Miandasht Wildlife Refuge and Abbas Abad Reserve where ICS is conducting several research plans to identify the cheetah hotspots, its seasonal movements and its interaction to the other species. On the other hand, educational efforts are being measured among the local communities inside and around the above pilot sites.

                                          Website of "Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), an important NGO": http://www.iraniancheetah.org/main.htm

                                          Collaring for radio-telemetry studies

                                          Studies of the Asiatic Cheetah in , Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)Iran

                                          In the late 1990s, the Islamic Republic of Iran became very concerned about environmental degradation and conservation of its wildlife, including the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah. Before this time, there were few initiatives to protect habitat and wildlife populations in the country. considers the cheetah an important part of its natural and cultural heritage and the cheetah has become a symbol of conservation efforts in .IranIran

                                          During a visit to by Dr. George Schaller in November 2000, the Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) suggested that WCS participate in a newly initiated cheetah conservation program. Dr. Tim O'Brien and George Schaller returned in the fall of 200l to determine the best methods to census the Asiatic cheetah and its prey, and to become familiar with conservation issues in the area. They held a workshop with local reserve staff on field techniques, such as proper record keeping and camera trap methods. Tim returned in 2002 and 2003 to set up and monitor camera traps. At the same time, Dr. Eric Sanderson, of the WCS Living Landscapes program, worked with Iranian counterparts on establishing a cheetah data base and a GIS landscape program to define cheetah habitat.Iran

                                          In early 2004, Dr. Luke Hunter, Coordinator of the WCS Great Cats Program, with George Schaller, spent a month visiting to find a suitable sight to carry out telemetry of the Asiatic cheetah. The Bafgh Protected Area was selected for intensive work because prey species occur at relatively high densities and cheetah sightings appear to be frequent and occur year round. Bafgh is also home to leopards and striped hyenas; therefore this sight is ideal for studying the entire carnivore community.Iran

                                          WCS has finally secured government permission to proceed with our proposal to undertake the first ever telemetry study of the last remaining Asiatic cheetahs and other large carnivores in collaboration with the DoE. It will be the first detailed ecological study of cheetahs in , and will furnish critical information to make very specific recommendations for the future conservation planning of this critically endangered population. It also represents one of the very few telemetry studies conducted in the country since the Iranian Revolution. There is currently no radio-telemetry research active in the country; this will be the only major research effort of its type and will be a unique opportunity for Iranian biologists and students to acquire training and expertise in conducting such a project.USAsia

                                          The Asiatic cheetah’s range is restricted to the Central Iranian Plateau, with an estimated population of 60 adult cheetahs remaining. The main threat to the Asiatic cheetah is loss of their primary prey species, gebeer gazelle (Gazella dorcas), goitered gazelle (Gazella subgothrosa), urial sheep (Ovis orientalis) and wild goat (Capra aegagrus), due to poaching and grazing competition with domestic livestock. Habitat loss from mining development and poaching of cheetahs also threaten their populations in . WCS and the DoE hope to begin collaring Asiatic cheetahs in the fall of 2006.Iran

                                          "Capturing" the Asiatic Cheetah for Collaring or Captive Breeding programs

                                          Points to be taken into consideration before any “Capturing” of the Asiatic Cheetah / Iranian Cheetah for “Collaring” or “Captive Breeding” programs is undertaken:
                                          • No genetic studies have been done on the genetic material collected from Asiatic Cheetahs to establish how different they are from their African cousins. For instance we are now more aware of how, critically endangered, Asiatic Lions differ from their African cousins.
                                            • "Live tissue samples" can also be collected at the same time from captured Cheetahs and frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately which will help not only us but many of our future generations as well to resurrect many “cloned” Asiatic Cheetahs out of every single one caught who may soon die in the field with all its living cells perishing containing the invaluable genetic material and a complete package of evolutionary instincts lost forever by decomposing and scavenging in the field / wild.

                                              • This is why there is an extreme urgency to re-educate modern scientists and naturalists in all allied fields worldwide to think of species and especially critically endangered species like the Asiatic Cheetah on a “living cell level” as all the genetic material and millions of years of evolutionary instincts are in a compact package therein. It is heartening to know for all of us that even if a highly endangered animal dies its cells remain alive in their fresh dead bodies for hours and sometimes days in winter. For example bits and pieces of bone and tissue collected from Hyena, jackal and vulture scavenged dead bodies of Asiatic Cheetah from the wild can yield hundreds of living Asiatic Cheetahs in the future. Cloning science is already well developed and promises to only get better in the years to come. Frozen tissue in liquid nitrogen collected now can be used to resurrect not only extinct species but highly endangered dead animals on a yearly basis to pair and breed with highly endangered dwindling populations on a regular basis in the future not only today by us but by all our future generations for thousands of years to come. The fact that a relatively numerous sister species like the leopard can be impregnated with a Asiatic Cheetah cloned embryo makes all this much easier as highly endangered Asiatic Cheetah mothers will never be required to bear and rear the cubs from cloned embryos.
                                              • Male Asiatic Cheetah captured or tranquilized can be milked for their “sperm” which can be frozen in liquid nitrogen. It is a common and essential practice used for endangered species all over the world, in the zoos. There is special technology developed to give a light shock to the testicles to collect the ejaculate. In animal husbandry however, milking for sperms is done on regular basis by conditioning the animals to ejaculate.
                                                • Overdose of tranquilizer can kill an animal. Body weight and age of the animal may determine the amount of tranquilizer to be used. It is a very specialized task.
                                                  • Other methods of capturing the Asiatic Cheetah for collaring or captive breeding including the ones traditionally used in or the ones used in may need to be properly investigated. The use of modern technologies like using a "laser" or a remotely controlled device and a video camera to drop a trapdoor need to be investigated.
                                                    • IndiaAfrica
                                                    • Captured Cheetahs are not ferocious and can be handled by humans relatively easier when all precautions are taken to not injure the animal or oneself. This is how Cheetahs were captured in for centuries. There is footage on films available where nets were used to capture Cheetahs in Africa in which they were driven and once cornered handled immediately thereafter without being tranquilized, people just went in and caught them by their tails in the footage on this particular film which I personally saw about 15 to 20 years ago in which they also showed how different a proposition it was in case of leopards in comparison to cheetahs which are very very ferocious.
                                                      • India
                                                      • Traditional, centauries old, perfected methods of capturing Asiatic Cheetahs in are mentioned in some detail in the book: "The end of a trail, Cheetah in ", by Divyabhanusinh. This book is profiled at the CAT website on this page and several other commercial website for books:
                                                        • IndiaIndiahttp://www.felidae.org/PROJECTS/Asiatic_Cheetah/divyatitl/divyatitl.html

                                                        On Trapping, Training, Treatment of and Hunting with Cheetahs; Read Chapter 7 from above book from the CAT website: http://www.felidae.org/LIBRARY/divyabhanusinh.pdf

                                                        Captive Breeding of Cheetahs is “Notoriously Difficult”
                                                        • Before any wild Asiatic Cheetahs are captured and removed from the fragmented tiny populations of 5 to 15 living in the Iranian reserves today and a total population of around 60 in the whole world all of them in Iran it has to be considered and communicated to all concerned that cheetahs are extremely difficult to breed in captivity. Even though thousands of Asiatic Cheetahs were captured and kept in captivity on a regular basis for hunting purpose for centuries in there is only one record of them having ever bred in captivity. Mugal Emperor of India Akbar the Great son's recorded birth of one litter in the 16th century. No further captive births have ever been recorded for the Asiatic Cheetah before or since till date. It is a well known fact that all cheetahs are extremely difficult to breed in captivity. All of the modern techniques for successful cheetah captive breeding have to be researched from zoos and institutions from all over the world who have achieved some success in this aspect before any captive breeding program is taken up.
                                                          • India
                                                          • However “live tissue” and “sperm” samples frozen in liquid nitrogen collected from Asiatic cheetahs captured for collaring or from freshly dead ones found in the field can be used to clone hundreds of Asiatic Cheetahs in the years to come when the cloning science will be even more advanced. It will definitely make more sense to use these cloned cheetahs for a captive breeding program with very low success rate.
                                                            • Modern research has found from extensive observations in the wild that males and females in captivity should be kept separately in far removed enclosures. After a female in heat has saturated her breeding enclosure with her urine, a completely “stranger” male should be introduced in the enclosure for a short period for mating and the pair should be made to part ways shortly again. Males and females kept together for a long time tend to never breed.
                                                              • There is little genetic variation between individual cheetahs in general. This is believed to have occurred from a population "bottleneck" suffered by them some 10,000 years ago when only a handful survived. It does not appear that their lack of variation causes any problems in the wild though higher mortality in cubs may be attributed to it.
                                                                • Captive breeding has become very specialized and procedures like in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination have been successful in assisting breeding.
                                                                  • Comments from Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) on Cheetah Captive Breeding and survival Challenges:

                                                                    • Molecular genetic studies on free-ranging and captive cheetahs have shown that the species lacks genetic variation, probably due to past inbreeding, as long as ten thousand years ago. The consequences of such genetic uniformity have led to reproductive abnormalities, high infant mortality, and greater susceptibility to disease, causing the species to be less adaptable and more vulnerable to ecological and environmental changes.

                                                                    Unfortunately, captive breeding efforts have not proven to be meaningful to the cheetah's hope for survival. The similar experiences of the world's zoos have reaffirmed the traditional difficulties of breeding cheetahs in captivity. Despite the capturing, rearing, and public display of cheetahs for thousands of years, the next reproductive success, after Akbar the Great son's recorded birth of one litter in the 16th century (reference is made here to the Emperor of India and the only recorded captive Asiatic Cheetah birth in history), occurred only in 1956 at the Philadelphia Zoo. Unlike the other 'big cats', which breed readily in captivity, the captive population of cheetahs is not self-sustaining and, thus, is maintained through the import of wild-caught animals, a practice which goes against the goals of today's' zoological institutions. Although reproduction has occurred at many facilities in the world, only a very small percentage of cheetahs have ever reproduced and cub mortality is high. In the absence of further importations of wild-caught animals, the size of the captive population can be expected to decline, a trend, which coupled with the continuing decline of the wild population, leaves the species extremely vulnerable.

                                                                    Cheetah Fact Sheet, Other Survival Challenges: http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=43
                                                                    • Comments from that Cheetahs are “Notoriously Difficult to Breed”:
                                                                      • SmithsonianNationalZoologicalPark

                                                                      Other management techniques also proved critical in encouraging the cats to mate. Zoos looked at studies of cheetahs' behavior in the wild for clues to facilitating successful mating in zoos. In the wild, adult males (usually brothers) live in coalitions of two or three individuals and defend a single territory as a group, while females are nomadic and completely solitary except when they have a litter, Saffoe explains. And females decide when and with which males they will mate. When a female is in estrus, she enters the males' territory only when she is ready, and she also determines how long she waits for the males to come and find her. "In zoos we have historically tried to choose when we want females to breed and who we want them to breed with, and that does not work with cheetahs," says Saffoe. "Once zoos started paying attention to the behavior and biology of cheetahs and listening to what they were telling us, we started getting successful births."

                                                                      Unlike domestic cats, which moan, spray, and roll when in heat, female cheetahs exhibit few outward signs when they are ready to mate. Chemical changes in a female's urine are one of the few indicators, and the scent of a female's urine signals to males that she is in estrus. When the Zoo wants to breed a female cheetah, keepers give her a few days to saturate the ground in an enclosure with her urine, and then introduce a male into the yard. "We wait for the males to tell us the female is in estrus," says Saffoe. If the time is not yet right, the male may just walk around, sniff, and lie down. But if the female is in estrus, "it's like someone flicked a light switch," Saffoe says. The male chirps, yelps, and runs around the yard. If the female is then allowed into the adjacent yard, he usually starts stuttering, a low throaty sound like a pigeon cooing, which is a direct solicitation to the female to mate.

                                                                      While the males make their intentions well known, the females' signs of interest are much subtler, Saffoe says. If the female raises her tail and exposes her genital area, or lies down and starts rolling, she may be willing to mate. But even those behaviors are not foolproof indicators. "The trick is in knowing whether she's rolling because she's interested in mating or because her back itches," says Saffoe. "We have to spend a lot of time looking at those signs and learning to interpret them."

                                                                      Before Tumai's and Zazi's pregnancies, there were nine natural matings at the National Zoo. Two females also were artificially inseminated via a method developed by Howard in which a thin rod called a laparoscope is inserted through a tiny incision in the cheetah's abdomen to deposit semen directly into the uterus. Throughout , this method has achieved a 45 percent pregnancy rate and produced 19 cubs since the early 1990s. But with the National Zoo's cheetahs it failed. During those pregnancies, keepers learned that an animal's weight may be as reliable a sign of pregnancy as fecal hormone tests and can yield results more quickly. "Weight follows the same pattern as the hormones," Saffoe says. Up to 60 days after mating, females gain weight, and in each false pregnancy their weight has dropped between 60 and 70 days after mating, Saffoe says, noting that "what made us relatively certain Tumai was pregnant was that her weight shot up after day 60." Zazi followed the same pattern.North America

                                                                      Conceiving a Future for Cheetahs: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2005/5/futureforcheetahs.cfm

                                                                      Links
                                                                      • Book on Asiatic Cheetah in : "The end of a trail, Cheetah in ", by Divyabhanusinh:
                                                                        • IndiaIndia

                                                                        About this title: This is a pictorial history of the cheetah in from the pre-historic period to the present. It provides a comprehensive account of the animal's interaction with man through the ages, reconstructing the life of the cheetah in captivity and its use by Indian royalty as an aid to hunting. Divyabhanusinh examines anew the process of the Indian cheetah's decline in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, charting its path to extinction and analysing the causes of its disappearance. In this impression, the 'Epilogue 2001' provides a complete update on the information in the book, including detailed new findings on the evolution of cheetahs from and . It also gives fresh evidence about the sadly declining numbers of cheetah in , and the existence, albeit not very optimistic, of the animal in and . The epilogue also documents cases of the killing of the cheetah for rewards, a practice performed in , leading to its extermination. Finally, the author proposes a reintroduction of the cheetah in a select part of . But if the cheetah is to survive at all on the Indian subcontinent, it will require the unconditional support of the governments of , , and . The author mines a wide range of sources -- from prehistoric cave paintings, Sanskrit, Classical Greek and Roman literature to Mughal miniature paintings, rare photographs, shikar literature of the British Raj, and interviews. Containing several illustrated book is an indispensable reference work and has led to a renewed interest in the cheetah's reintroduction in .IndiaAfricaAsiaIranPakistanAfghanistanBritish IndiaIndiaIndiaIranPakistanIndia

                                                                        http://www.felidae.org/PROJECTS/Asiatic_Cheetah/divyatitl/divyatitl.html

                                                                        Read Chapter 7 from the above book: On Trapping, Training, Treatment of and Hunting with Cheetahs:http://www.felidae.org/LIBRARY/divyabhanusinh.pdf
                                                                        • Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), Government of :
                                                                          • Iran

                                                                          Official Government of Iran Website: The joint DoE & UNDP/GEF project on the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah (CAC) has been running since September 2001 in collaboration with Wild Conservation Society (WCS), Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), and International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

                                                                          http://cheetah.irandoe.org/about/index.htmlhttp://cheetah.irandoe.org/index.html
                                                                          • Iranian Cheetah Society(ICS) is an important NGO:

                                                                            • Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is an Iranian, independent, non-profit NGO established in Aug 2001 and works to save the last remains of the Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus just living in , so more appropriate to be called the Iranian cheetah.Iran

                                                                            http://www.iraniancheetah.org/
                                                                            • Yahoo Group of IranianCheetahSociety(ICS):

                                                                              • Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) is an Iranian, independent, non-profit NGO established in Aug 2001 and works to save the last remains of the Asiatic Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus just living in , so more appropriate to be called the Iranian cheetah. For further information please refer to: www.iraniancheetah.orgIran

                                                                              http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IraniancheetahSociety/
                                                                              • Wild About Cats Website Page: "Marita" the last captive "Asiatic Cheetah":

                                                                                • This is Marita. She was saved as a cub after her mother was killed by livestock herders. We are sorry to say that the beloved Marita has passed on at on , of respiratory failure. She had two veterinarians and Hormoz Asadi with her. On a good note, she lived a full 9-1/2 years, which is a reasonably full lifespan in captivity. There is no longer a captive Asiatic cheetah, however, wild cheetahs have been spotted in and are currently being studied. Wild About Cats Website:11pmDecember 23, 2003Iran

                                                                                http://www.wildaboutcats.org/index.htmhttp://www.wildaboutcats.org/asiatic.htm
                                                                                • Cat Specialist Group 1996. Acinonyx jubatus ssp. venaticus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.:

                                                                                  • ; http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/220/allhttp://www.iucnredlist.org/
                                                                                  • “Iran-zoo” Page on: Iranian (Asiatic) Cheetah, (Acinonyx Jubatus Venaticus), Yuzpalang-in Persian:

                                                                                    • ; Iran-zoo is an independently maintained website. ;http://iranzoo.tripod.com/cheetah/cheetah.htmlhttp://iranzoo.tripod.com/main.html

                                                                                    hin:चीता

                                                                                    Related Sites

                                                                                    NBSAP – The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan CHM website posts brief reports on the activities carried out under the NBSAP project and enumerates its accomplishments: http://www.biodiversity.ir/

                                                                                    WCS – The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society has sent three experts to study cheetah biology and ecosystem, and to improve the GIS lab of the Iranian DoE. The world-famous Dr. George Schaller and Dr Timothy O’Brien visited cheetahs habitats in , and Dar-e Anjir Hunting Prohibited Area in November 2001. Dr Eric Sanderson, a GIS expert, developed an information database for the CACP in May 2002: ; KavirNational Park KharturanNational Parkhttp://www.wcs.org/353624/194354http://www.wcs.org/

                                                                                    Studies of the Asiatic Cheetah in Iran (WCS) http://savingwildplaces.com/swp-home/swp-explorationandsurvey/239531

                                                                                    CCF – The Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund has been active in this field for more than 30 years, and their expertise has made their contribution to the Project indispensable. CCF participation in the Project focuses on promoting collaborative management. Dr Laurie Marker and Cynthia Olson, visited in November 2001 and took a trip to Kharturan NP: ; CCF Collaboration with "The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)" is an NGO: Iranhttp://www.cheetah.org/http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=47

                                                                                    IUCN – The World Conservation Union is participating in the CAC Project through two commissions: the Cat Specialist Group and the Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP). Dr Gus Mills from and head of Hyena Specialist Group SSC/IUCN visited in May & June 2002 to study the cheetah habitat in Naaybandaan WR. Mr. Taqi Farvar, head of CEESP commission, will be in charge of the Inception Mission in this project: South AfricaIranhttp://www.iucn.org/

                                                                                    CSG - The Cat Specialist Group, IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group: http://www.catsg.org/

                                                                                    ICS – The Iranian Cheetah Society is an NGO concerned with the fate of the Asiatic cheetah. The Society’s main activity at this point is public awareness: http://www.iraniancheetah.org/

                                                                                    Latest news & developments

                                                                                    “Collaring” the Asiatic Cheetah to pull it away from Extinction: Studies of the Asiatic Cheetah in : ;Iranhttp://savingwildplaces.com/swp-home/swp-explorationandsurvey/239531

                                                                                    Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Joins Efforts to Save Rare Asiatic Cheetah: http://www.wcs.org/353624/194354

                                                                                    Aug 17, 2006: Necklaces Will Track Asiatic Cheetahs: http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2638/html/panorama.htm#s166707

                                                                                    August 16, 2006: Crossbreeding with an Extinct Species: http://roguepundit.typepad.com/roguepundit/2006/08/hybridizing_wit.html

                                                                                    July 2006: Efforts to Confirm A New Cheetah Habitat in : Iranhttp://www.iraniancheetah.org/NaeinCheetah.htm

                                                                                    Jun 15, 2006: Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) Extended for Two Years, Ultralight Aircraft Count Wildlife Prey: http://iran-daily.com/1385/2586/html/panorama.htm#s151572

                                                                                    May 11, 2006: 'Illegal hunters endanger 's rare cheetah': Iranhttp://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?ArchiveNews=Yes&NewsCode=42769&NewsKind=CurrentAffairs

                                                                                    Apr 20, 2006: Asiatic Cheetah Spotted in Gonabad (): Iranhttp://iran-daily.com/1385/2541/html/panorama.htm#s138498

                                                                                    Mar 29, 2006: Cheetah cloning on CCMB's agenda: http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/29/stories/2006032917840200.htm

                                                                                    March 28, 2006: Indian lab behind artificial insemination fawn http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1661160,0004.htm

                                                                                    Feb 23, 2006: Injured Cheetah Still Missing: http://iran-daily.com/1384/2506/html/panorama.htm#s128250

                                                                                    Aug 31, 2005: (Injured Asiatic Cheetah discovered in these “Camera Trap” photos:) "Asiatic cheetahs caught on camera", It's amazing what a remote camera will pick up: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4201180.stm

                                                                                    Dec 22, 2005: Cheetah Sightings Rise: The Asiatic cheetah numbers about "60" at present, with the majority living in : Iranhttp://iran-daily.com/1384/2457/html/panorama.htm#s114378

                                                                                    Oct 20, 2005: Paragliders Conducting Semnan Wildlife Survey: http://iran-daily.com/1384/2406/html/panorama.htm#s99825

                                                                                    Aug 31, 2005: Asiatic cheetahs caught on camera, It's amazing what a remote camera will pick up: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4201180.stm

                                                                                    Jul 12, 2005: Written in “Reaction to” opposing the joint Asiatic Cheetah Cloning Project with . "Indo-Iranian Cooperation" (a request for both the countries to co-operate on “Asiatic Cheetah” and “” conservation) by Rajesh Sethi, Armaantt@yahoo.com (Found at the bottom of this page from Iran Daily) IranIndiaAsiatic Lionhttp://iran-daily.com/1384/2321/html/national.htm#top

                                                                                    Jul 9, 2005: No cloning of Cheetah: : Kounteya Sinha, Times News Network Iranhttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1165783.cms

                                                                                    Jul 9, 2005: Mullahs' regime says "No" to cloning of Cheetah: http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/3/8133

                                                                                    Jun 09, 2005: Census on Preys of Asiatic Cheetah: http://iran-daily.com/1384/2294/html/panorama.htm#67368

                                                                                    Apr 21, 2005: Cheetah Cloning Proposal Opposed: http://iran-daily.com/1384/2255/html/panorama.htm#56145

                                                                                    Mar 17, 2005: Census on Asiatic Cheetah Complete: http://www.iran-daily.com/1383/2239/html/panorama.htm#51378

                                                                                    Jan 27, 2005: Asiatic Cheetah Killed in Accident: An Asiatic cheetah was found dead in Kalmand protected area in Mahriz this week: http://iran-daily.com/1383/2201/html/panorama.htm#40857

                                                                                    November 3, 2004: Joins the World Conservation Union (ENS): GLAND, - The Islamic Republic of has joined IUCN-The World Conservation Union and becomes the 80th country to become a member of the prestigious international conservation organization.IranSwitzerlandIran

                                                                                    Iran's Asiatic Cheetah is considered at risk of extinction. The Asiatic Cheetah once ranged from Arabia to India, through Arabia, Iran, central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and, particularly in Iran and the Indian subcontinent, it was numerous, according to a 1998 report by Peter Jackson, chairman of the IUCN-Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group and a professional conservation journalist for over 30 years. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2004/2004-11-03-02.asp

                                                                                    Aug 07, 2004: Cloning wild animals: Opinion - Editorials http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/08/07/stories/2004080703261000.htm

                                                                                    January 31, 2003: seeks 's help with cheetahs: IndiaIranhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2714553.stm

                                                                                    Jan 29, 2003: Cheetah cloning project gets a boost: By Mohammed Shafeeq, Indo-Asian News Service http://puggy.symonds.net/pipermail/wildlife-india/2003-January/000183.html

                                                                                    May 20, 2002: Extinct Indian cheetah may stage a comeback: http://www.dawn.com/2002/05/20/int12.htm

                                                                                    October 10, 2001: Iran to expand conservation work with IUCN, IUCN news release: Gland, Switzerland, (IUCN) http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2001_2005/press/iranminister.htmlhttp://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2001/newoctober01.htm

                                                                                    October 16, 2000: to clone cheetah: Indiahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/974858.stm

                                                                                    October 8, 2000: Endangered species cloned: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/962159.stm

                                                                                    See also
                                                                                    • Extinction
                                                                                    • Cheetah
                                                                                    • Asiatic Lion
                                                                                    • Blackbuck
                                                                                    • Chinkara
                                                                                    • Goitered Gazelle

                                                                                      Cloning

                                                                                      In January 2003, announced plans to clone cheetahs to help restore the Indian sub-continent's cheetah population (which has been wiped out in ). asked to provide cheetahs for cloning. The Asiatic Cheetah, once found throughout Southwest Asia and the South Asian subcontinent, is now restricted to about 50 individuals in a few locations in Iran, with possibly a few in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Scientists at ’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology plan to create the clones from live cells from the Iranian cheetahs. Scientists are aware that it will not be an easy experiment and will take a lot of research, dedication and hard work. They plan to use a leopard as surrogate mother to produce the cloned cheetah cubs.IndiaIndiaIndiaIranHyderabad

                                                                                      Domestic cats have successfully carried transplanted embryos of endangered wild small cat species (see below) and domestic cattle have successfully carried cloned calves of endangered bovine species so there a leopard could theoretically carry a cheetah cub. If they use an egg cell from the leopard, the cubs' mitochondrial DNA will be from the leopard, however, the offspring will be a cheetah (have nucleus DNA from cheetah cell donor), not a leopard/cheetah hybrid. Following the birth of domestic cat clone Cc in 2001, Martha Gomez's team at the for Research of Endangered Species () cloned the African wild cat in 2003, using domestic cats as surrogate mothers. The results were 2 males (a third male did not survive) and 5 females that will now be bred in the conventional manner. They were created using African wildcat DNA with the domestic cats used as egg donors and surrogate mothers. The next step is to demonstrate that the clones breed normally. AudubonCenter, , New OrleansLouisianaUSA

                                                                                      In January 2005, Gomez's team announced their attempts to clone the rare Black-Footed Cat (a southern African small cat) and the intention to clone the Rusty Spotted Cat (a small cat from and ). In 2004, cloned Black-Footed Cat embryos, were implanted into a domestic cat surrogate mother, but none survived to full term. It is possible that the two species are too distantly related for the surrogacy to work. To clone the Rusty Spotted cat, preserved cells from a deceased zoo specimen will be used. There are 13 rusty spotted cats in captivity and their wild counterparts are endangered by hybridisation with domestic cats. Their ability to hybridise means they should be closely enough related that domestic cat surrogates can be used. Cloning could also be used to help endangered tigers. Because lions and tigers can interbreed, tiger DNA could be implanted into a lion donor egg and lion surrogate mother. However, a more obvious and less expensive method would be to stop zoos and private menageries from breeding trash tigers (where they indiscriminately mix different subspecies) including white tigers (heavily inbred mutants) and to concentrate on breeding tiger subspecies. This would prevent the need for cloning tigers.IndiaSri LankaUS

                                                                                      The "end of extinction" scenario

                                                                                      This note has been added for those interested in the cloning of extinct species. There are several obstacles to be overcome in resurrecting extinct species through cloning. Firstly, there is the problem obtaining intact DNA. The DNA in preserved specimens is fragmented; many preserving processes damage the DNA. Reassembling fragmented DNA may not be possible; errors in the reassembly equate to mutations and will most likely be lethal. It might be possible to "borrow" DNA from a suitable closely related living species to compensate for damaged stretches of DNA. Even where good tissue samples are available, there is the problem of surrogate mothers. Cloned embryos must be implanted into compatible mothers (e.g. same gestation period).

                                                                                      To resurrect an extinct animal, both males and females must be cloned in order to breed. If only one gender is available for cloning, it may be possible to cross a clone with an individual of a closely related species and then back-cross the crossbreed offspring to the original (pure-bred) clone. Over five to seven back-crossings will result in an almost pure-bred population. There might not be a compatible, closely related species to hybridise with. It might be possible to "borrow" DNA from a suitable closely related living species to do a sex-change on a cloned embryo. This is less of an issue in reptiles where sex determination depends on incubation temperature.

                                                                                      To establish a successful breeding population, there must be genetic diversity i.e. as many different individuals as possible must be cloned. If this is not possible, cross-breeding may be needed. The clones would not have adults of their own species to learn from and might not learn certain skills e.g. hunting, social behaviour. There also needs to be a habitat to release the resurrected species into, otherwise they will end up as novelties in zoos and safari parks. Recently extinct species where good quality DNA samples are preserved in tissue banks and where closely related species can provide surrogate mothers are more likely to be successfully resurrected. There is some hope of finding preserved DNA in frozen mammoths and using elephants as surrogates. Some extinct subspecies of big cat might be candidates for resurrection as they have living relatives. At our present level of knowledge, a lack of undamaged DNA means species such as moas, dodos, warrahs, quaggas and thylacines will remain extinct for the foreseeable future.

                                                                                      Plans to clone

                                                                                      India plans to clone the locally extinct Indian / Iranian / Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) with the help of :Iran

                                                                                      India is eager reintroduce the Asiatic Cheetah to her wilds with the help of and has invested in infrastructure to clone the Asiatic Cheetah. Indian scientists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) are working on the Cheetah cloning project.Iran

                                                                                      Asiatic Cheetah cloning project is key to its long term survival, cells from freshly found dead Asiatic Cheetah in the field can be made into several live cheetah in the future. This is how can contribute in bringing back the Asiatic Cheetah from the brink of extinction in the long run and help in re-introducing some to her own wilds once again. An agreement with to return a live Asiatic Cheetah for every dead one sent to could work over the long-term. Iranians need to preserve any fresh dead bodies or even just scavenged portions thereof found on the field.............. yet nobody is working on this part or knows what to do. In till now all the living cells in fresh Asiatic Cheetah dead bodies (found in the field) are destroyed which could have been saved till hours after the death of the animal itself for future cloning by freezing them in liquid nitrogen, what a waste. If their dead bodies are preserved in liquid nitrogen they can be cloned into several live Asiatic Cheetahs once the technology is more advanced if not immediately now. These cloned cheetahs will be free to pass on their genes back into the highly inbred, fragmented and dwindling living Asiatic Cheetah population in . All the millions of years of evolution and instinct is packed in each of the living cell in the Asiatic Cheetah which remain alive for several days in the winter even after the Cheetah has unfortunately died on the field. There should be an urgent long-term program in the entire Asiatic Cheetah habitat in and the whole neighboring region to urgently look for any fresh Asiatic Cheetah dead bodies or even scavenged small portions thereof and freeze them immediately in liquid nitrogen. There is a desperate need to even keep the cells alive of dead Asiatic Cheetah which could lead to several live ones in the long run.IndiaIranIndiaIranIranIran

                                                                                      This is also true for all other highly endangered species and scientist working in the field should be aware of this and routinely collect samples in liquid nitrogen. Not only human fertility specialist but animal husbandry industry has been using liquid nitrogen to freeze livestock sperm and egg samples for many years now. Farmers have not needed to keep bulls anymore from the last many years, their cattle is routinely fertilized by liquid nitrogen frozen sperm from a high breed bulls.

                                                                                      Recent breakthrough in cloning technology can also use live cells in animal tissue taken from a fresh dead body to produce live animals. Embryos could be implanted in relatively numerous sister species like leopards who could bear and rear the cubs as their own, and wild relatively more numerous African Cheetah surrogate mothers can even teach them how to hunt.

                                                                                      As far as the argument that cloning is much too expensive to invest in and funds could be better used for keeping the live ones living goes..... well no body is asking to divert the much needed funds for conservation of the living Asiatic Cheetah, the Indian Government has already invested heavily in the Asiatic Cheetah cloning project because it is a matter of national pride for them to see the Asiatic Cheetah re-introduced in in the long run.India

                                                                                      And it is a matter of extreme urgency to keep every Asiatic Cheetah cell alive even after the animal is found dead. Asiatic Cheetahs living in tiny populations in vastly fragmented habitat may not get an opportunity to meet and mate and may die before passing their genes in the living population. The dead bodies of these animals if located in time and preserved in liquid nitrogen could yield several hundred Asiatic Cheetah in the years to come when cloning science is surely going to be more commonplace.

                                                                                      Asiatic Cheetah will be shortly "collard" with tracking collars in a joint program of Iran with WCS, when and if any of these collard Asiatic Cheetahs die in the field in the Iranian desert the researchers tracking them will immediately know as they will stop moving, it has to be urgently communicated to all concerned that the dead bodies of these Asiatic Cheetahs have to be immediately reached, collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Enough liquid nitrogen and containers have to be kept all over the field possibly in the remote villages too where they are in close proximity of any randomly found dead Cheetah. Any Asiatic Cheetah dying because of collision with traffic moving on roads have to be picked up by citizens and transported to the nearest advertised Asiatic Cheetah freezing centre.

                                                                                      There should be a regular effort in mass media to preserve ’s living as well as dead Asiatic Cheetah, even the shepherd in remote villages should be made aware and be able to alert the researchers in time.Iran

                                                                                      Radio and television programs apart from those in the print media, even the "road signs / boards" passing through Asiatic Cheetah habitat should advertise the needed facts.

                                                                                      Also it has to be noted here to make all the concerned officials and researchers aware that it is not only the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at India which is working on freezing the sperm and tissue samples of endangered species in liquid nitrogen for possible future cloning projects but there are several other institutions around the world. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) now working on the conservation of Asiatic Cheetah with collaboration with the government of has across the road from them on the other side of central park in the of Natural History (AMNH). The Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection (AMCC) department of AMNH has its own multimillion dollar facility doing exactly the same who might be very willing to contribute in the preservation of living cells from any dead Asiatic Cheetah bodies or scavenged portions there of collected from the field. The already existing multimillion dollar resources of institutions like the AMNH worldwide can be used to save highly endangered species from complete extinction.IranManhattan AmericanMuseum

                                                                                      The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), :
                                                                                      India

                                                                                      The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), India is a very important institution for the continued survival and breeding of Asiatic Lions, Asiatic Cheetahs and other Endangered Species, it has also invested in cloning and other reproduction technology techniques and it will be responsible to clone the "Asiatic Cheetah" with Iran's help to insure its continued survival: ;http://www.ccmb.res.in/newccmb/welcome.html

                                                                                      Dr. Lalji Sing’s page and his Research-Group page, CCMB, who is also responsible for the "Asiatic Cheetah Cloning Project" of India and endangered species projects including that of "Asiatic Lion": http://www.ccmb.res.in/staff/lalji/research.htmlhttp://www.ccmb.res.in/staff/webres/laljiresgrp.html

                                                                                      Following is another example of an international institution doing much the same work. Researchers on the field in the wilderness as well as in zoos all over the world should send liquid nitrogen frozen dead bodies of endangered species to institutions such as these so that genetic samples can be permanently catalogued and frozen to conserve the planets biodiversity. These frozen samples will help our future generations to wake up from the dead highly endangered animals to enable them once again to breed their genes into the living remnant populations thus increasing the gene pool of a highly endangered species.

                                                                                      The Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection (AMCC) department of the American Meusem of Natural History (AMNH):

                                                                                      The mission of the Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection (AMCC) is to provide an accessible repository of frozen tissue specimens, collected and maintained under rigorously controlled conditions. In a time of massive species loss, such efforts are essential in order to preserve as comprehensive a record as possible of the earth's biodiversity.

                                                                                      The broad scope of the Monell Collection addresses an under-served niche within the cryogenic biorepository community by attempting to catalog all biodiversity at the molecular genetic level. The Monell Collection is further distinguished from other repositories because it exists within the framework of the of Natural History (AMNH), where tissue samples can be referenced with documented collecting events involving traditional voucher specimens and associated data. Here, modern bioinformatics initiatives will ultimately link collections with taxonomic determinations, bibliographic citations, geospatial referencing information, genetic data, digital images and photographs. AmericanMuseum

                                                                                      Link to the website of the Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection (AMCC) department of the American Meusem of Natural History (AMNH): ;http://research.amnh.org/amcc/objective.html

                                                                                      Why Liquid Nitrogen?:

                                                                                      Currently, AMNH tissue collections (that are not centrally archived in the AMCC) are being stored at a range of temperatures and conditions, from -20º to -80º Celsius. Unfortunately, specimens held at -20º are subject to protein and lipid changes and damage from the growth of microorganisms while specimens held at -80º are also subject to protein and lipid changes, with extensive desiccation of specimens being observed upon light microscopic examination of frozen sections after only six months of storage . This degree of structural change may also induce some types of molecular change. We advocate a "colder is better" position on archiving tissues for future research. This is especially true if the long-term use of a resource is undefined. http://research.amnh.org/amcc/objective.html#ln2

                                                                                      News articles

                                                                                      August 16, 2006 : http://roguepundit.typepad.com/roguepundit/2006/08/hybridizing_wit.html

                                                                                      Mar 29, 2006: http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/29/stories/2006032917840200.htmhttp://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/03/29/1517720.htm

                                                                                      March 28, 2006 : http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1661160,0004.htm

                                                                                      September 27, 2005: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/sep272005/snt1432262005926.asp

                                                                                      9-18, 2005: http://www.ccmb.res.in/publications/newpub/paps/pap343.html

                                                                                      August Week 2 (2005): http://www.indianwildlifeclub.com/mainsite/press.asp?a=10

                                                                                      August 2005: http://202.54.119.101/interviews/drlalji.php

                                                                                      Jul 9, 2005: http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/3/8133http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1165783.cms

                                                                                      August 20, 2004: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/19/1092889284000.html

                                                                                      August 18, 2004: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1285454,00.html

                                                                                      Aug 07, 2004: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2004/08/07/stories/2004080703261000.htm

                                                                                      April 26, 2004: http://www.ahmedabad.com/index/viewarticle/article/13862/section/14http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/features/detailfeatures.php?id=533

                                                                                      February 7, 2003: http://www.iranian.com/Satire/2003/February/Cheetah/index.html

                                                                                      29 Jan 2003: http://puggy.symonds.net/pipermail/wildlife-india/2003-January/000183.html

                                                                                      May 20, 2002: http://www.dawn.com/2002/05/20/int12.htm

                                                                                      13 Nov 2000: http://www.elements.nb.ca/theme/endangeredspecies/cheetah/mediaarticle.htm

                                                                                      16 October, 2000: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/974858.stm

                                                                                      8 October, 2000: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/962159.stm

                                                                                      July 5, 1999: http://www.ccmb.res.in/hilites/rnd98-99/appliedfront-9899.html

                                                                                      Indian infrastructure and related links for cloning and links on endangered species conservation

                                                                                      Central zoo authority has a new brief Surojit Mahalanobis [ 2146hrs Isttimes News Network ] 29 Jul, 2005http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1185971.cms

                                                                                      'Frozen' zoo to keep future of endangered species in safe custody Chetan Mallik [ 31 Oct, 2003 0258hrs Isttimes News Network] The endangered wildlife species can forget fears of extinction as the Central Zoo Authority has now got the permission from the centre for the ‘frozen’ zoo – a sperm and germ plasm bank – at Hyderabad. , see the zoo next to ccmb lab: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-260007,curpg-1.cmshttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/260007.cmshttp://www.hyderabadzoo.org/vet.htm
                                                                                      • Updated Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA) mandate to breed endangered animals, and create a gene and sperm bank with the help of CCMB.

                                                                                        • http://www.cza.nic.in/index.html

                                                                                        Central Zoo Authority Of (CZA)India

                                                                                        www.cza.nic.in http://www.cza.nic.in/index.htmlhttp://www.cza.nic.in/research1.html
                                                                                        • Conservation Breeding Specialist Group:
                                                                                          • http://www.cbsg.org/
                                                                                          • CCMB , “The Frozen Zoo”
                                                                                            • India

                                                                                            The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB)

                                                                                            CCMB India is a very important institution for the continued survival and breeding of Asiatic Lions, Asiatic Cheetahs and other Endangered Species, it has also invested in cloning and other reproduction technology techniques and it will be responsible to clone the "Asiatic Cheetah" with 's help to insure its continued survival: Iranhttp://www.ccmb.res.in/newccmb/welcome.html

                                                                                            Dr. Lalji Sing’s page and his Research-Group page, CCMB, who is also responsible for the "Asiatic Cheetah Cloning Project" of India and endangered species projects including that of "": Asiatic Lionhttp://www.ccmb.res.in/staff/lalji/research.htmlhttp://www.ccmb.res.in/staff/webres/laljiresgrp.html

                                                                                            Publications of Dr. Lalji Sing’s Research group, CCMB which is also responsible for the " Cloning Project" of : Asiatic cheetahIndiahttp://www.ccmb.res.in/publications/newpub/grppub/laljisingh.html

                                                                                            Interview of Dr. Lalji Sing: http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/interviews/drlalji.php

                                                                                            CCMB & CCMB in news:

                                                                                            The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Homepage: http://www.ccmb.res.in/newccmb/welcome.html

                                                                                            http://dbtindia.nic.in/r&d/bioenviron.htmlhttp://www.ccmb.res.in/http://www.ccmb.res.in/jobs/resprojbio.htm

                                                                                            , see the zoo next to ccmb lab: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-260007,curpg-1.cmshttp://www.hyderabadzoo.org/vet.htm

                                                                                            http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/19/1092889284000.htmlhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,12559,1285451,00.htmlhttp://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol278/issue5339/r-samples.dtl#278/5339/807b
                                                                                            • European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)

                                                                                              • EEP-European Endangered Species Breeding Programmes http://www.eaza.net/http://www.eaza.net/EEP/3EEPtext.html
                                                                                              • Species Survival Commission

                                                                                                • http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/

                                                                                                SSC Specialist Groups http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/sgs.htm

                                                                                                IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group

                                                                                                Re-introduction NEWS Re-introduction Guidelines

                                                                                                IUCN Guidelines for the Placement of Confiscated Animals Re-introduction Practitioners Directory 1998

                                                                                                Taxon & Species Specific Re-introduction Guidelines RSG Resource CD v. 1.0 January 2003

                                                                                                http://www.iucnsscrsg.org/downloads.html
                                                                                                • The American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)

                                                                                                  • http://www.aza.org/

                                                                                                  Species Survival Plan® Program (SSP) http://www.aza.org/ConScience/ConScienceSSPFact/

                                                                                                  Guidelines For Reintroduction of Animals Born or Held in Captivity Adopted by the AZA Board of Directors on June 3, 1992http://www.aza.org/AboutAZA/reintroduction/

                                                                                                  Studbook Fact Sheet http://www.aza.org/ConScience/ConScienceStudFact/http://www.aza.org/prodev/PopMgtI/
                                                                                                  • World Conservation Monitoring Centre

                                                                                                    • http://www.unep-wcmc.org/

                                                                                                    An appeal to governments, scientists & naturelovers

                                                                                                    This Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) Page has been originally created by Atul Singh Nischal - atulsinghnischal@yahoo.com, I am a Life-member of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS): and a Life-subscriber of WWF-India: .http://www.bnhs.org/http://www.wwfindia.org/

                                                                                                    I am an "Asiatic Cheetah" and "" fan originally from , naturelovers & wildlifers in my country and in love both these species and we used to have plenty of them till a few hundred years back in both and . Today all the Asiatic Cheetah are extinct all over Asia and also extinct in India now, just the last 50 to 60 are said to be remain in Iran.Asiatic LionIndiaIranIndiaIran

                                                                                                    The same fate befell the "" all over and they were exterminated by man. also lost them eventually in 1942. From the handful that survived in in 1900 in a single forest, a population of about 300 odd has been conserved and built up. It is felt now that all the Asiatic Lion are cramped together in a single Indian which is hopelessly overpopulated and Lions have started to spill out to unprotected adjoining areas coming in regular conflict with man with many of them being killed/poisened regularly. Since all the Asiatic Lions of the world are cramped together in the Gir region of the Indian State of Gujarat and face complete extinction because of an epidemic or natural calamity that may strike, the Government of India has made arrangements to re-introduce some to Kuno-Palpur Sanctuary in the neghbouring State of Madhya Pradesh in India. Even though the is on the official seal of and all Indians are proud of them, unfortunately the State Government of Gujarat and some people in feel that are state property and are opposing the re-introduction of some wild Lions to Kuno-Palpur Sanctuary in the neighboring State of in . For the time being it looks like that wants to keep its monopoly on tourism revenue generated by the Asiatic Lions.Asiatic LionEuropeAsiaIranIndia of forestGirAsiatic LionIndiaGujaratAsiatic LionMadhya PradeshIndiaGujarat

                                                                                                    Naturelovers sincerely hope that both "Asiatic Cheetah" and "" can be pulled away from the brink of extinction and eventually be re-introduced back to their original remaining habitats all over . Maybe it may take a few centauries but presently and can co-operate on bringing the "Asiatic Cheetah" and "" back to their countries. should help in re-introducing the "Asiatic Cheetah", even though it may have to be through "Cloning" if needed, and should help to re-introduce the "" to their country.Asiatic LionAsiaIranIndiaAsiatic LionIranIndiaIndiaIranAsiatic Lion

                                                                                                    Long live the "Asiatic Cheetah" and "" who had shared, shoulder to shoulder, much of the same habitat ranging from to ...........Asiatic LionNorth AfricaIndia

                                                                                                    Thank you

                                                                                                    Atul Singh Nischal

                                                                                                    Original author of this article on "Asiatic Cheetah": atulsinghnischal@yahoo.com; Life-member of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS): ; Life-subscriber of WWF-India: ;http://www.bnhs.org/http://www.wwfindia.org/

                                                                                                    References and "" citation of copied textFair use

                                                                                                    Cited references

                                                                                                    Conservation of the Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus in (submitted by Peter Jackson and presented by John Seidensticker) Iranhttp://www.csew.com/felidtag/pages/Reports/reports_nonattendees.htm

                                                                                                    IUCN - The World Conservation Union: http://lynx.uio.no/lynx/catsgportal/cat-website/catfolk/jubssa1a.htm

                                                                                                    CAT Specialist Group: http://lynx.uio.no/lynx/catsgportal/cat-website/20_cat-website/home/index_en.htm

                                                                                                    CAT website "Asiatic Cheetah Status Surveys": http://www.felidae.org/PROJECTS/Asiatic_Cheetah/asiatic_cheetah.htm

                                                                                                    Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP), Government of Iran: http://cheetah.irandoe.org/asiatic/index.htmlhttp://cheetah.irandoe.org/habitats/index.htmlhttp://cheetah.irandoe.org/Call%20for%20CACP/index.htmhttp://cheetah.irandoe.org/about/index.html

                                                                                                    "Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS)": http://www.iraniancheetah.org/main.htm

                                                                                                    Book on Asiatic Cheetah in : "The end of a trail, Cheetah in ", by Divyabhanusinh: IndiaIndiahttp://www.felidae.org/PROJECTS/Asiatic_Cheetah/divyatitl/divyatitl.html

                                                                                                    The Pros and Cons of Cloning (and other reproduction technology techniques) 2001 - 2005 sarah hartwell. messybeast.com cat resource archive: http://www.messybeast.com/clonecat.htm#cheetah

                                                                                                    Studies of the Asiatic Cheetah in : Iranhttp://savingwildplaces.com/swp-home/swp-explorationandsurvey/239531

                                                                                                    Census on Asiatic Cheetah Complete, Iran Daily: http://www.iran-daily.com/1383/2239/html/panorama.htm#51378

                                                                                                    “Cheetah” Page From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

                                                                                                    The Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection (AMCC) department of the American Meusem of Natural History (AMNH): ;http://research.amnh.org/amcc/objective.html

                                                                                                    Conceiving a Future for Cheetahs, : Cheetah Fact Sheet, Other Survival Challenges, CCF: SmithsonianNationalZoologicalParkhttp://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2005/5/futureforcheetahs.cfmhttp://www.cheetah.org/?nd=43

                                                                                                    Retrieved from ""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Cheetah


                                                                                                    : | | | | | | | CategoriesCritically endangered speciesHindi termsSanskrit termsFelinesMammals of AsiaFauna of IranFauna of IndiaFauna of Pakistan


                                                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443

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                                                                                                    Asiatic Cheetah

                                                                                                    A detailed account of the critically endangered “Asiatic Cheetah”, what is being done for its conservation and the importance of modern technologies like cloning in wildlife conservation today.

                                                                                                    Original Article written & submitted to Wikipedia

                                                                                                    By Atul Singh Nischal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                                                                                    may still be available on the website of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
                                                                                                    at the following webaddress as the original has sice been edited to suite general interest readers:**********************************Please note anybody can write any article on Wikipedia and anybody can go on it and edite any article, hence my article has been edited since too to serve a general audience, but it may still be available on the Wikipedia website as an earlier version of the Asiatic Cheetah article, you can also find it by reaching the Asiatic Cheetah page on Wikipedia and pressing the "history" button on top of the page, please go to the latest edit by me, username "Atulsnischal" and "click on the date next to the latest entry of my name" if it is still archived it will comeup.The original version that I wrote and submitted and the one I am posting in this blog is version number:

                                                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443






                                                                                                    Atulsnischal; of the Asiatic Cheetah Article/Page on Wikipedia:00:50, 13 September 2006

                                                                                                    The steps needed to reach the original article I submitted on wikipedia if it is still available:

                                                                                                    3 - The latest version I wrote mentioned above:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443

                                                                                                    ************************************ 2 - Reach the "History" page to the Asiatic Cheetah article by clicking the "History" button on the top of the page of the current version online, look for my version above:1- The Asiatic Cheetah main page originally I created but edited since, current version edited from myne to suite general interest readers:************************************
                                                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&action=history


                                                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Cheetah




                                                                                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asiatic_Cheetah&oldid=75407443

                                                                                                    posted by Atul Singh Nischal @ 11:30 PM 0 comments