ASIA’S LAST CHEETAHS
The Asiatic Cheetah is a critically endangered species. Only 40-70 of these wild cats survive today in Iran. Animal welfare activists have launched a broad rescue mission to save these hunters from extinction.
Cheetahs in Asia? Yes, they do still exist. But only 40-70 of these graceful hunters are left in the wild, surviving today exclusively in Iran. These Asiatic Cheetahs are the rarest big cats in the world. Mohammad Farhadinia is one of the most eminent experts on Asiatic Cheetahs internationally and his mission in life is to guarantee their conservation. The friendly Iranian searches for "his" cats in stony desert regions, assembles camera traps, mounts radio transmitters on cats and follows them over long distances. Together with the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), he visits villages and in a playful way helps inhabitants understand the cheetah’s situation. There is one special cheetah in captivity, Koshki, who has become a nationwide symbol of hope – it is hoped that Koshki will breed with a captive female. A fight against time, against the extinction of the noble cat species. After the last election in June 2013, the new Iranian Vice President and Minister of the Environment Massoumeh Ebtekar placed the Asiatic Cheetahs in the focus of her efforts. Preventing the species from dying out completely has become a national task.