Wildlife Conservation Society TRIP REPORT Islamic Republic of Iran January 2004 Luke Hunter Global Carnivore Program

Transcription

1 Wildlife Conservation Society TRIP REPORT Islamic Republic of Iran January 2004 Luke Hunter Global Carnivore Program Sites visited: Numerous protected areas, IR of Iran. Dates of travel: Jan 1-26, Objectives: 1. Reconnaissance for suitable field site to initiate telemetry research of Asiatic cheetah and associated mammalian fauna. 2. Attendance at workshop International Workshop on the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Jan 20-22, Mehdishahr, Semnan Province. Report. I traveled with George Schaller for the entirety of this trip and most of the activities/meetings described in this report were attended by he and I together. Jan 1. JFK- Istanbul (12 hour lay-over), arrived Tehran Jan 3 rd, 3am, met at airport by Bezhad Rahgoshai, CACP Deputy Manager. Snow in Tehran delays proposed trips into the field until Jan 5 th Jan 5-Jan 9; Bafgh Protected Area/ town Jan 5. Tehran-Yazd (flight), met at airport by Akbar Hamadanian, the National Project Manager of the CACP (who has replaced Alireza Joorabchian). Yazd DoE headquarters, meet up with our team including Mr Hosenyi the regional DoE manager of Yazd Province. By vehicle, we travel towards Bafgh town which will be our base for exploring Bafgh PA. En route, a phone-call to Mr Hosenyi reports a sighting of five cheetahs by a game scout in Bafgh PA. The five apparently comprised one adult male, one adult female and three large cubs. Sighting was made at a distance of ~200m at sunset approximately 15 kilometres from the Orsestan Ranger Post. Bafgh apparently records high frequencies of cheetah sightings and additionally has relatively high densities of Persian wild goats and other prey species. This is also the region where Marita the captive female (who died about a week before our visit) was captured. Mr Hosenyi mentions during this trip that leopards in Bafgh PA may be increasing, based on frequency of reports. He provides some recent examples; scouts reported sightings of three different leopards in the same day and there is a recent report of seven leopards together (which is difficult to explain in terms of the species known biology from elsewhere in its range!) Accommodation in Bafgh town is generously provided by the Central Iron Ore Company at their large facility in town; the Company operates mines in the region (not in the protected area). Here we meet Mr Karami, park warden of Bafgh PA and we are shown home videos of Bafgh PA wildlife. They include scenes of a female cheetah and her year-old cubs on a young wild goat kill filmed by Mr Karami (we subsequently visit the site, see below). There is also a scene of young caracal taking refuge under some scrub during which someone makes an attempt to flush it for a better view. Invasive actions like this from park staff must be discouraged by DoE.

2 Statistics on Bafgh PA, provided by Mr Karami: Bafgh PA is 880 km 2. There are two ranger stations manned by a total of nine scouts. They have two vehicles and five motorbikes (scouts tell me on another occasion three motorbikes). Jan 6- Visit Bafgh PA. The PA is easily accessible from town, the border of the park is ~30 minute drive away. Our destination is Orsestan Ranger Post in the north of the PA. Team comprises Mr Hamadanian, Mr Hosneyi, Mr Karami, Bezhad Ragoshai, Schaller, Hunter and two scouts working in Bafgh PA, in two vehicles. Inside the park, en route to Orsestan, 08.45am scouts find tracks of an adult male leopard on the road. The scouts tracking skills are impressive; they identified the species from a very indistinct impression, confirmed further along the road by clearer tracks. We see wild goats often. Between and (at Orsestan Ranger Post), we see approximately 235 individuals in five groups (ranging from 12 to ~125). Orsestan Ranger Post. Lunch. Mr Hosneyi provides the following general comments on conservation in Iran. 7.6% of Iran is protected. In Yazd Province, the figure is 15% and there is an additional 8% given over to hunting prohibited areas. Yazd is the second poorest of Iran s provinces and has a very low population density. Trophy hunting is permitted for ungulates but Yazd did not issue permits for 2004 specifically for the cheetah (meaning, to protect the cheetah s prey populations). Normally, 100 licenses for wild goat and urial are issued annually. The success rate of hunts is around 95%. Note: there is a feeding station at Orsestan for ungulates due to the ongoing drought. We are joined by Iranian film-maker Mani Mirsadeghi who is working with the DoE on a film about the cheetahs and Iranian wildlife. 2pm. Set out on walk to where Mr Karami filmed the female cheetah and her two cubs. The route takes us south of Orsestan and, for much of it, follows a dry watercourse with very distinct game trails alongside. There is very frequent small and large carnivore sign including numerous leopard scrapes and scats. This trail would likely be very productive for foot-snare captures of carnivores, especially leopards. It is less suitable for cheetahs though Mr Karami mentions that they have seen cheetahs moving along this valley between plains on the western side of the mountains (our destination) and open areas near and north of Orsestan. The trail has not been camera-trapped but at out suggestion, park scouts have placed 4 traps along it the next day. Trail also takes in a natural seep where we see 18 wild goats including 3 juveniles. Trail takes us to the mouth of the dry watercourse on the western boundary of the PA where the cheetahs were filmed. The watercourse gives way to a large plain which looks like good cheetah habitat though there is no game in sight. Karami says that cheetahs are reported here often. We are met by the vehicles as sunset approaches. This is close to the boundary of the PA and there is a herder with approximately 100 domestic sheep and goats on the plains (outside the PA) as we exit. Wildlife viewed: approximately 250 wild goats. Also frequent leopard and small carnivore sign. Jan 7. Bafgh PA. We enter the park via a different route, driving around its northern boundary and entering at the north-east corner. The route takes us past numerous mines on the fringes of the PA. Mining is widespread in this area, mainly for iron, phosphate and uranium.

3 Inside the PA. We see 14 wild goats (09.25am) and 11 urial (09.35am) on an open plain (which run to the foothills when they detect us at a distance of about 200m). By vehicle, we follow a dry watercourse moving west through the mountains to a point where there is another feeding station for ungulates. We examine the old remains of a juvenile wild goat apparently killed by cheetahs near the feeding station and there are old remains of at least one additional kill there (leopard kill?). Mr Karami knows of both of these kills already; they are left in the field. 11am; we find a freshly killed ( 12 hours old) adult male urial in the watercourse near the feeding station. The kill is clearly cheetahs. The bone marrow indicates average condition (Karami suggests that male condition is poor because it is presently the urial s breeding season). Scouts collect the skull and find tracks of three cheetahs leading west. We follow them on foot in two teams. 11:50; Bezhad and Mr Karami spot two of the cheetahs high on a ridge above us (Schaller and Hunter are present but we re too slow to see the cheetahs!) They are visible for only a few seconds and run over the ridge out of sight. A single female wild goat runs along the ridge, fixated on the cheetahs and sounding alarm whistles. We climb the ridge and follow the cheetahs tracks (three adults, probably males) down the other side. They run into an extensive series of connected plains and valleys surrounded by high ridges. We follow the tracks on foot for at least two kilometers but do not sight the cheetahs again. Their tracks indicate they are trotting the entire time. The following information comes from a discussion with Bafgh scouts on human-wildlife conflict in Bafgh. It is illegal for a herder or citizen to kill any predator even if it is killing livestock. A complaint must be made to the DoE. Game scouts assess the validity of the report and if the loss is confirmed as a predator kill, the complainant is eligible for compensation. This is approved and paid by DoE headquarters in Tehran. Bezhad confirms this process; I m unclear how often compensation is paid out and in what amounts. The great bulk of complaints in the Bafgh region are made against wolves which are apparently common in the Bahabad region (north of Bafgh PA) though scouts say they see them rarely. Leopards are second in order of complaints. Very few complaints are made against cheetahs and the scouts are united in their response that cheetahs are not perceived by local herders as a problem. The scouts feel that if any predator (they single out leopard) is killed in the region, it will invariably be reported to them by local people. Wildlife viewed: Three cheetahs, 53 wild goat, 11 urial, one saker falcon. Also abundant porcupine sign (the only evidence of small mammals- rodent/hares- so far). Jan 8. Bafgh PA. Visit an area in the north-west of the park close to yesterday s cheetah sighting where livestock are permitted seasonally. It transpires that 80% of Bafgh PA is open to grazing for 120 days over Spring. Not all 80% is accessible to herders in the same year; it is used on a rotation system (data on this would be valuable to have). In total, 20,000 head of stock graze in the PA during the open season. Each household permitted inside the PA own head of livestock, mainly goats kept for milk and meat. Only 30,000Ha is entirely closed to grazing. The area is an extensive plain (or series of connected plains) which appears to be good gazelle habitat though they are apparently scarce here (and we do not see any). Herders are always accompanied by dogs but Bezhad is certain that they do not carry firearms and mentions that it is

4 very difficult for people here to own weapons (NB: this does not appear to be the case for people elsewhere in Iran, particularly in border areas; needs clarification). Assessing the impact of the seasonal presence of herders & livestock on cheetahs and their prey species is a clear research need. There is also a need for more data on herders (which could be addressed by methodical surveys or interviews). Apparently, conflict between cheetahs and herders is very rarely reported during the Spring grazing season. Complaints are received regarding wolves as well as foxes (golden jackals?) occasionally taking lambs. Wildlife viewed; approximately a dozen wild goats, one golden eagle. Jan 9. Drive from Bafgh to Naybandan Wildlife Refuge. Route takes us east of Bafgh initially towards Bahabad and then north along the eastern boundary of Naybandan on a major highway. Habitat is mostly gravel plains, looks extremely desolate. Ravens (Corvus corax) are very numerous along the highway for most of the drive, probably foraging on road-killed camels of which we count seven. We see free-ranging camels inside the WR often. Apparently, these are semi-feral and are periodically rounded-up by the owners for market. We meet Naybandan DoE staff on the highway at the eastern entrance to the park. They mention that the last sighting of cheetahs was made about 2 weeks prior (contrasts with the regularity of sightings in Bafgh). Striped hyaenas are very common in Naybandan, leopards have been extinct for 18 years according to the Park warden. Naybandan has one ranger station (Aliabad, our destination), nine scouts, one vehicle and three motorbikes. The Core Area (on the eastern boundary of the Park) contains Aliabad as well as two active villages. We visit a natural spring which is used by wildlife including jebeer (we search in the area but do not see any). The spring is badly impacted by camels which have defecated in and silted up the main waterhole. We see a single Cape hare after dark driving to Aliabad. Jan 10. There is a small crop patch near Aliabad station with 15 urial feeding at sunrise. Apparently, these crop patches are scattered throughout the WR including inside the Core Area and are utilized by people in summer. They complain about wildlife using the crops. We set out on a walk in one of the two major watercourses in this part of the WR; these are evidently the best habitat for cheetahs in the WR. Large areas of the WR are open gravel plains and salt plains which, reasonably, the scouts say the cheetahs rarely use. The watercourses are prone to flash floods during the rainy season (winter) the river we are following flooded and the scouts found an adult cheetah drowned in the riverbed when the water had subsided. It was apparently one of a group of four adults (male coalition?). Barat (scout) indicates the floodwaters reached about 2.5 metres high. We see approximately 35 urial and 12 wild goats on this walk. Bezhad mentions there are numerous active mines inside Naybandan WR. Wildlife viewed; 35 urial, 12 wild goats, 1 unidentified raptor, 10 chukar partridges, crested larks, European house sparrows. Striped hyaena scat is fairly common, other carnivore sign is much less than at Bafgh. Hare droppings are quite common.

5 Afternoon. Plans are changed. We had planned to spend 3 nights at Naybandan but we have to leave early to head back to Tabas to resolve the uncertain status of the Cheetah Workshop. Overnight Tabas. Jan 11. Drive Tabas to Yazd city. On the way, we visit the hyaena city in north-west Naybandan, an extensive cave system used as a den-site by striped hyaenas. It is full of bones, most from camels but there are also remains of jebeer here. The most hyaenas seen here by the scouts at any one time was three. The hyaenas apparently only use this den during summer but another winter den is mentioned by the scouts. Daranjeer WR. En route to Yazd, we stop briefly in Daranjeer to inspect a newly built ranger post called Kharanagh. Construction cost approximately 6000 Tourans (~USD7300). During construction, in either June or July, a dead cheetah was found near this site at a small natural waterhole (the mummified carcass is at the main DoE post in town where we take photographs). We are told that Daranjeer has no large predators other than the cheetah. I double-check and am told there are no wolves, leopards or striped hyaenas. Caracals and foxes are present. Daranjeer WR, Bafgh PA and Naybandan PA are all within about 200 kilometers of each other at the closest points. Reasons for different carnivore guild compositions in each is worth investigating further. My Mollai the head of Daranjeer estimates there are 5-6 cheetahs in the WR. Overnight Yazd city. Jan 12-. Yazd. Am; interview with Yazd local press on the cheetah project and conservation in Iran. Pm. Meeting with Nazila Yercharvaz, Yazd International Centre of the Living Desert. Jan 13. Visit Kalmand PA. Kalmand is approximately 60 km to the west of the western boundary of Bafgh PA. There are 27,000 people living in the PA, 4000 of those are clustered on the plain we visit (where the single ranger station for the park is located). People rely on livestock or agriculture; those on the plain are mainly pistachio farmers. There is a good population of goitered gazelles here, estimated by DoE at We see two groups ten minutes apart, 36 and 17 animals respectively. They run from the vehicles but are less skittish than other wildlife we have seen so far, perhaps because they are in an area of high human density and used to a certain amount of activity. In addition to the communities in the park, there is a very busy major highway which runs through the middle of it. The pistachio farmers complain about the gazelles feeding on their crops. Most of the pistachio orchards are fenced; it turns out that farmers use the fences as a way of intentionally trapping the gazelles rather than excluding them! They leave gates open to permit access to the gazelles and then close them inside the pens, killing them for meat (illegally). Cheetahs are apparently not recorded on this plain but have been seen east of the Sorkhabi Mountains (which we can see to the south-east of this plain. NB: mountains have a different name on George s topo maps which the DoE staff do not recognize.) Mr Hamadanian believes these cheetahs are from Bafgh PA; it seems likely the population is connected. It is unfortunate that cheetahs do not utilize this plain area given the high numbers of gazelles but presumably the human activity deters them.

6 Mr Hamadanian mentions that Kalmand has a significant problem with feral dogs originating with the communities on the plain. They estimate dogs on the plain, responsible for killing 7-8 gazelles per week. The dogs also hybridize with wolves and golden jackals, both of which occur widely in the park and particularly on the plain (as do striped hyaenas; leopards occur in the mountains). DoE scouts shoot the dogs when possible but the scouts say it is not effectively dealing with the problem. We visit a different area of Kalmand PA to view an onager breeding and reintroduction project. There is a large fenced area with 15 wild-caught onagers (1 adult male, 9 adults females, 5 foals). The pen is very close to the highway but this is apparently not the release site- I am not clear if it has been decided where this is. Jan 14. Yazd-Tehran (flight). Tehran Meeting Medhi Kamyab, UNDP. Summary: Medhi is very supportive of WCS proposal to begin targeted telemetry work on cheetahs and he agrees with us that there is some urgency to begin this work. He raises the possibility that allocation of the remaining budget for the CACP project needs to be reviewed. He also emphasizes the possibility of applying to the GEF in 2 years time for funding to expand the project. We emphasized the urgent need for baseline data, on cheetahs and associated wildlife as well as on socio-economic factors. Additionally, we emphasized the need for ongoing education. Jan 15. Lunch with Mr Najafi in Tehran. Pm: Meeting Mohammad Farhadinia, Iranian Cheetah Society. ICS has recently surveyed the Abbas Abad region and Mohammad feels it is a very important area for cheetahs. The area is in the center of the Kavir region, essentially in the middle of the five CACP reserves. He shows us photographs of clear cheetah tracks, a road-killed striped hyaena and the fresh cadaver of a dead sandcat found in the field (latter is collected and deposited in DoE headquarters in Na in). MF also has two photographs of cheetahs shot by local people in the area; one if from about 20 years ago, the other is from MF is not clear on if this hunter was prosecuted; he says they are very careful about their questioning so as to maintain trust with local people in the areas in which ICS is active (to be encouraged). Abbas Abad apparently has good populations of wild sheep, Persian wild goat, goitered gazelles and jebeer. There are only three major villages in the area, apparently to the south of the major wildlife areas (a major mountain range separates them).there is a problem with poaching, apparently not by local pastoralists but by recreational hunters in vehicles coming from towns, especially Isfahan. Poaching is controlled by the local DoE but they only have 4 scouts for the region. ICS has a problem of trying to achieve too many things. We emphasized two clear areas where ICS can make a significant contribution: 1- education, on which they have already made an impressive beginning particularly in schools/students.

7 2- Presence/absence surveys for cheetahs and other mammals outside the five CACP reserves. There is a compelling need to collect more data for these areas; concomitantly, there is little need for ICS to survey CACP reserves where DoE is already conducting rigorous surveys Jan 16. Meeting Alireza Joorabchian. Some statistics for cheetahs killed in Bafgh: 2 cheetahs shot 6-8 years ago, 2 cheetahs shot around 5 years ago (~1998); the hunter was known in this case but it is unclear whether he was prosecuted. 3 cubs killed by a herder in He was prosecuted and convicted; his defense was that he did not know they were cheetahs and thought they were small cats. The penalty for killing a cheetah is a USD12,500 fine per animal and possible jail-time. A fine of $37,500 was imposed (symbolic only) and he was jailed for four years. Joorabchian thinks he has been released since, though earlier Bezhad believed he was still incarcerated. Joorabchian stressed the importance of a corridor for cheetah movements between Naybandan and Daranjeer along/near a major road connecting the two regions. He has followed cheetah tracks along this route. He says at least three cheetahs have been killed in this corridor by local people though it is unclear when. He says northern Naybandan (which we did not visit except very briefly) is the most important area of the WR for cheetahs. Of hyaena cities he says there are at least five indentified in Naybandan. It would be valuable to compile the locations of these. Pm. Dinner with Targhi Farvar (CENESTA), Jamie Everett (CENESTA) et al. Jan 17. Tim O Brien, Josh Ginsberg and other international delegates for Workshop arrive in Tehran (Jan 17 fwds). They include: Drs Christine Breitenmoser-Wursten & Urs Breitenmoser, Co-Chairs IUCN Cat Specialist Group, Switzerland. Dr Michael Coughenour, rangeland scientist, Colorado State University, USA Dr Viktor Lukarevsky, WWF Leopard Program, Turkmenistan, Russian Academy of Sciences. Dr Laurie Marker; director Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia. Dr Gus Mills, research fellow, South African National Parks. Mr Sean McKeown, Manager, H.E.Sheikh Butti Maktoum s Wildlife Center, UAE. Mr Cynthia Olson, Scientific Advisor, Cheetah Conservation Fund, USA. Dr Dave Swift, rangeland scientist, Colorado State University, USA Dr Jeremy Swift, Institute of Development Studies, Univ Sussex, UK. Pm; meeting with Mohammad Farhadinia and Morteza Eslami, Iranian Cheetah Society who present a summary of their activities to most of above delegates. Jan 18. Tehran- Khar Touran NP (drive). Field trip with all international delegates to Khar Touran NP. Arrive 20.45pm. See a single Cape hare driving into the park at night. Jan 19. Khar Touran NP. We spend a morning driving around the Core Zone of the park. As for other protected areas in Iran, the Core Zone does not exclude human activity. We stop at a small settlement owned by a single family with approximately 1000 head of livestock (sheep and goats). We interview the herder/head of house who is out in the field with the herd. He does not have problems with cheetahs; he considers wolves and leopards a problem. He says he usually sees cheetahs in the park in summer.

8 We meet another herder when leaving the park later that day. He says that he has had problems with cheetahs, leopards and wolves killing his stock. He is the first to mention cheetahs as a problem though it is not clear how damaging he considers them; he says leopards are worse. As is usual, he is accompanied by large dogs (three) and he says that the cheetahs run from the dogs. He says he only sees cheetahs in the summer. Wildlife viewed: 18 urial, 6 (?) onagers. Leave Khar Touran, drive to Mehdishahr for Cheetah Workshop. Jan Cheetah Workshop. Summary conclusions. The workshop was a useful forum for cheetah stakeholders of all sorts to express their various interests. However, this would have been more meaningful to have occurred at the outset of the CACP project in It also involved far too many attendees for it to function as a workshop. Nonetheless, it was interesting to hear the opinions of people from many diverse backgrounds with an interest in cheetahs. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of empirical data which we would have hoped for two years into the project. Presentations with valuable data specifically on the cheetah in Iran were restricted to Mehran Niami s (DoE) Landscape Species-GIS presentation, and Tim O Brien s (WCS) presentation on DoE/WCS camera-trapping and survey work in CACP reserves. There was no empirical data provided on the socio-economic aspects of the project which many of the international delegates were hoping to see. It was also an omission that no attention was given to education. This is critical to initiate among rural stakeholders in cheetah range. The workshop was valuable in helping to clarify research priorities for the future. I hope it also highlighted the urgency of the problems facing cheetahs. Jan 22. Return to/overnight Tehran. Jan 23. Tehran- Urmia. Lake Urmia. Plan is to visit two island in Lake Urmia where wild sheep are abundant. There are no predators on the islands. An attempt was made to introduce leopards on one island; two animals were released there but did not breed (there are confusing reports that both may have been males) and both eventually died. The conditions are very windy and we spend about 90 minutes trying to make it out to the islands: water is very rough and one of the boats has a engine problem. We abandon the attempt and go to Plan B- a tour of East Azerbaijan Province, north-west Iran to visit Kiamaki Wildlife Refuge and Arasbiran Forest. Kiamakai WR. 88,000 hectares, mainly temperate forested mountain habitat. Carnivores present include leopards, Eurasian lynx, wolves and brown bears (latter said to be common). Wild boars are apparently abundant and cause significant problems with local people; there are numerous villages inside the reserve and small patches of crops are widespread. Boars raid the crop patches.

9 Local people are not permitted to shoot boars themselves though if they make complaints, DoE personnel will shoot boars in the fields. A game scout was attacked here by a female leopard when he approached her den-site where he knew there were young cubs. His arm was mauled but he survived; another scout fired his rifle in the air and frightened the leopard off. She was not shot. All the scouts considered the incident the fault of the scout. Jan 24. Arasbiran Forest. We visit a reintroduction project of the Persian red deer. There is a small herd in captivity destined for release into a larger fenced area. Drive to Tabriz, fly Tabriz-Tehran. Jan 25. Spend most of the day at Tehran DoE. Tour the EcoParadiso Zoo on the grounds of the DoE; this is where Marita was housed until she died December Meeting with Mostafa Khalili, formerly of the DoE now retired. He mentions that cheetahs have a distinct mating season, from early January into February, and that this applies to all cheetahs throughout Iran. Cheetahs in well-studied African populations do not display a distinct breeding season but this worth investigating in the Iranian animals. He mentions that he has many records of cheetah sightings which he compiled while he was with DoE, but it seems that these have never been compiled at DoE. It is unclear if he is willing to share them with DoE. Pm. Meeting Mohammad Farhadinia, Iranian Cheetah Society. Mohammad persists in pursuing a very scattered approach to activities, including many targeted research questions that ICS is simply not equipped to execute. We repeatedly emphasize the two areas where ICS can contribute (see Jan 15, above). He agreed to schedule a meeting with Bezhad to propose a collaboration between ICS and DoE on these two activities. Jan 26. Tehran- JFK via Istanbul. Conclusions and recommendations. Selection of site for telemetry research on cheetahs and associated biota. Bafgh Protected Area has the greatest potential of the five CACP sites for the proposed telemetry work on cheetahs and associated species. Prey species occur at relatively high densities, cheetah sightings appear to be frequent and occur year round. Logistically, the PA is located close to Bafgh town where support from DOE personnel is easily accessed and is excellent. We have identified a selection of suitable sites to focus capture efforts as well as a candidate area in the park to establish a small research base. Fieldwork could begin in September Training of DoE Scouts in field techniques. The dedication and enthusiasm of DoE scouts is generally excellent. However, there is a clear need to increase capacity in basic field work. We were shown a video from Miandasht (Nov 2003) in which a young cheetah was chased down by scouts on motorbikes for 20 minutes until it collapsed and could be filmed. Similarly, scouts filmed a litter of week-old cheetahs cubs (in Naybandan?) inside a cave where they were being denned; the female subsequently moved them the next day. [See also Jan 5 and Jan 23, above].

10 At the least, activities such as these result in significant disturbance of cheetahs and at worst may result in mortalities. They appear to be a carry-over from procedures instituted by the previous CACP Manager in which there was an emphasis on securing photographs/video without any associated education. This is now discouraged by the CACP secretariat though it seems they still occur to some extent: further training and education of scouts will assist in deterring these practices. Additionally, record-keeping in the field by scouts needs standardization and assistance. For example, we received confusing reports about the collection and compilation of kill data. Skulls of adult male ungulates killed by cheetahs (or assumed to be) were collected but it appeared that less impressive trophies were left in the field. Additionally, there was no basic data collected with the material; some guard posts in reserves had extensive collections of kills but none of them had even basic information cards. Also, while scouts were generally accurate in their interpretation of kills, some deficiencies exist. For example, one scout confused a jackal mandible for that of a young goat, and the estimation of age of killed animals varied widely among scouts. WCS can assist in providing protocols and training for game scouts on these matters, if appropriate. Compilation of historical data on cheetah. We repeatedly encountered mention of cheetahs being sighted/killed in each region we visited but much of this information appears to have not been recorded or compiled. These reports need to be compiled by and maintained in the CACP secretariat and should include information from both the CACP reserves and outside them (whether protected or not). Information which should be compiled/summarized include the following: 1. Cheetah sighting records for Iran from a) historical b) 1960-present; and from this, prepare detailed current/historical distribution map. 2. From sightings records, summarize group size (e.g. single/coalitions/female with cubs) and seasonal trends (e.g. when cubs are seen). 3. All cheetah kill records (species/age/sex etc) from all locations. 4. All records of killed cheetahs since 1960; include location/sex/age etc, and cause of death. Bezhad Raghoshai has expressed interest in these topics. Collaborating with the Iranian Cheetah Society. Despite some historical problems between the DoE and ICS, they have the potential to be useful collaborators in the cheetah project. They have expressed their willingness to work with DoE and make available their data for the cheetah project. There are two clear areas in which they should be encouraged: 1- Education and outreach, especially with schools/students. 2- Presence/absence surveys for cheetahs and other mammals outside the five CACP reserves. Acknowledgements The Department of the Environment continue to provide exceptional assistance and guidance for all WCS activities in Iran. In particular, I thank His Excellency Mr Anoshirvan Najafi, National

11 Director of CACP especially for taking much of his time to accompany us personally in East Azerbaijan Province. Thank-you also to Mr. Akbar Hamadanian, Project Manager of CACP and Behzad Rahgoshai, Deputy Manager of CACP whose excellent logistical support made our visit possible. Thanks also to Mr. Mehdi Kamyab at the UNDP-GEF office for his ongoing interest in and support of the project; and to the U.S. Department of Treasury for issuing the necessary permits for WCS to work in Iran. Finally, we are grateful for the Central Iron Ore Company for their hospitality in Bafgh.

12 Photographs 1. Bafgh Protected Area, January 6, On the access road to Orsestan Ranger Station, where the leopard tracks were found 2. George Schaller, Bafgh Protected Area, January 8, George Schaller, Naybandan WR, January 10, Domestic stock, Khar Touran NP Core Area, January 19, Persian red deer (captive), Arasbiran Forest. January 24, Herd-dogs, East Azerbaijan Province. January 23, These are typical for herd dogs we saw throughout Iran, large and aggressive!