Asiatic Cheetah Acinonyx Jubatus Venaticus Research Articles

Wandering the barren deserts of Iran: Illuminating high mobility of the Asiatic cheetah with sparse data

Mammalian species inhabiting arid landscapes exhibit various levels of mobility in order to cope with unpredictable spatiotemporal dispersion of resources. However, the space use and ranging behavior of many species in drylands is poorly understood, especially for large carnivores in Asia. Accommodating the long-distance movements of mammalian carnivores is a major challenge in conservation, particularly for threatened and highly mobile species. The Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, a critically endangered subspecies found only in arid areas of Iran, exhibits high levels of mobility. In the absence of satellite collars, this paper outlines ranging patterns of the majority of the Asiatic cheetah’s known population. A total of 17 independent cheetahs (11 males; 6 females) were detected with camera traps that were deployed on eight reserves between January 2011 and May 2016. The animals displayed extensive movements (up to 217 km between furthest known locations) and at least nine adult cheetahs were known to move between multiple reserves in central Iran. This mobility may follow a “nomadic” ranging pattern, a non-sedentary behavior with irregular timing and movement directions. The ranging behavior documented here must be considered when designing monitoring efforts to determine population and occupancy trends for this wide-ranging elusive carnivore. Although preliminary, our results show that improving protection beyond the current network of cheetah reserves, particularly along corridors, should be a top priority to safeguard the persistence of the Asiatic cheetah.

All roads lead to Iran: Predicting landscape connectivity of the last stronghold for the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah

Effective conservation solutions for small and isolated wildlife populations depend on identifying and preserving critical biological corridors and dispersal routes. With a worldwide population of ≤70 individuals, the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus persists in several fragmented nuclei in Iran. Connectivity between nuclei is crucial for the survival of this subspecies, but detailed information to guide conservation actions is lacking. We developed a resistance surface that predicted cost of cheetah movement as functions of topographical complexity, human development, surface water and landscape protection level. We predicted alternative models for the landscape connectivity of Asiatic cheetahs, considering the combination of relative landscape resistance and different dispersal ability scenarios. We predicted that core connected habitat patches are concentrated in three sub-regions, and within these sub-regions, populations were predicted to be broken up into two to eight isolated patches, depending on the dispersal ability scenario. Despite the achievements of recent conservation initiatives, long-term survival of the Asiatic cheetah in Iran is threatened by the combination of its small population size and fragmented distribution. We propose that conservation of the Asiatic cheetah urgently requires integrated landscape-level management to reduce mortality risk, protect core areas and corridors, and ultimately establish stepping-stone populations to integrate this fragmented population.

Exceptionally long movements of the Asiatic cheetahAcinonyx jubatus venaticusacross multiple arid reserves in central Iran

AbstractUnderstanding spatial ecology is essential for the development of effective and appropriate conservation strategies, especially for the Asiatic cheetahAcinonyx jubatus venaticus, which occurs at a low density across vast arid areas of Iran. Yet, despite its Critically Endangered status, information on the ranging and movement of this species was formerly lacking. Here we present data for exceptionally long movements of a few individuals across multiple reserves in central Iran, obtained using camera traps during 2009–2013. We identified an adult female who moved c. 150 km multiple times between two reserves in 3 years, covering an estimated 3,629 km2. After becoming independent her three sons formed a coalition and ranged across multiple reserves, covering an estimated 4,862 km2in their first 3 years. An adult male was also found patrolling three reserves, moving up to 40 km across an estimated 807 km2. These data demonstrate that cheetahs in Iran cover vast ranges, and indicate a requirement for large, connected areas for the long-term conservation of this metapopulation.

Feeding ecology of the Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus in low prey habitats in northeastern Iran: Implications for effective conservation

Feeding ecology of the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah was investigated from 2004 to 2009 in northeastern Iran where prey population has been depleted due to poaching. The survey was mainly based on scat analysis, complemented by kill monitoring and local inquiries of direct observations. Results of the research revealed that the Asiatic cheetahs mainly rely on medium-sized ungulates. However, with respect to low density of gazelles, they catch a considerable proportion of their food demands based on livestock which brings the cheetahs in direct conflict with local people. Meanwhile, smaller mammals only meet a small proportion of cheetah's diet. Our data indicate high importance of enhancing conservation efforts in northeastern Iran as well as other cheetah habitats where normal prey ungulates have experienced severe decline.