A historical range for the extirpated Caspian tiger Panthera tigris virgata in Iran, and close to Iran border in adjacent countries, is constructed based on records extracted from scientific literature as well as from travel journals from 17th century to first half of the 20th century. The records were classified into three categories of reliability, depending on the accuracy of identification and the precision of locality. The historical range is potentially open to re-introduction, and as new molecular research established, Amur tiger could be used as a stock to repopulate tiger in its former range from Central Asia to the Caucasus. However, Caspian tiger habitats in Iran have changed dramatically in the last century, and the main causes of its extinction are now at least as effective as before. If any potentially suitable habitat appears in feasibility studies, a long phase of preparation, beneficial to all wildlife, is needed before reintroducing tiger to land it disappeared from more than half a century ago.

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Table T1 and T2, Figure F1

It is more than a half-century since Iran lost its Asiatic lion. Lions were widespread in south Iran, specifically on the slopes of the Zagros and forest regions around Shiraz. They were slightly smaller than their African ancestor, with an obvious running belly fold, shorter mane, and thus visible ears. Current climate and other physical conditions in Iran seem to be in favour of the lions return. However, prey population and potential anthropogenic conflicts are major obstacles in re-introduction plans.

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We reviewed existing knowledge about the Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, a critically endangered subspecies which once used to live in west and south Asia, now confined to a small population remaining in Iran. Available literatures, reports and hard facts such as images and films were collected to shed light on biology, status and distribution of the cheetahs in Iran. Unlike previous perceptions about the cheetah characteristics, the Asiatic cheetahs are smaller and lighter than their sub-Saharan African cousins. They mainly live in hilly terrains, foothills and rocky valleys where they have access to existing range of prey in deserts. To cope with environmental variability in drylands, they show high mobility in their movement pattern, patrolling some of the largest ranges ever recorded for the cheetahs. On average, 2.7 (SE = 0.2, ranging 1 to 4) cubs younger than 6 months have been seen in each family, predominantly born in March-April. Since 2001, at least 18 areas in the country are known to have evidence of cheetah presence, mostly (n = 16) officially protected. A joint initiative of national and international organisations has been trying to halt major threats, particularly prey and habitat loss since 2001. However, the subpecies remains critically endangered on the verge of extinction with a population of fewer than 40 individuals, occurring across approximately 242,500 km² (i.e. 23.2% of its historical range in Iran). Decreased breeding, retaliatory killing by herders and occasional mortalities due to poachers or road collisions are the major threats for the small population of Asiatic cheetahs in Iran.

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Table T1 and T2

Little information is present regarding biology and ecology of the caracal Caracal caracal in Iran. The majority of the available information comes from cheetah reserves in the central provinces, where about a decade of monitoring initiatives and extensive camera trapping surveys have been conducted. The caracal occurs in a wide variety of habitats across Iran, and presence records are currently lacking only from the Caspian Sea region, hyper-arid central deserts, and the Iranian Caucasus. The Iranian caracal’s diet purportedly includes a great variety of prey of different sizes from small rodents and birds to medium-sized ungulates. Occasional predation on domestic small stock is likely to bring the caracal into conflict with local pastoralists. In spite of being highly adaptable and widely distributed, the caracal is in need for conservation attention. The main conservation priorities for the caracal in Iran are scientific research and mitigating negative interactions between caracals and traditional pastoralists. The caracal has been the subject of little empirical research in Iran, and elsewhere outside southern Africa. Here, we provide a thorough summary of what is known to date about the caracal in Iran, enriched with reliable field observations, unpublished reports, and anecdotal accounts. By summarising the current state of knowledge about the biology and ecology of Iranian caracals, we provide suggestions for future research, as well as priority conservation actions.

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Table T1

The study reviews the status of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in Iran with regard to its geographic range, prey species, reproductive biology, human-lynx conflicts, causes of mortality, and conservation measures, based on information from May 2011 to 2016. Based on a thorough literature review, personal interviews, and national questionnaire surveys, we conclude that the lynx is widely, but patchy distributed in North, North-West and West Iran. Iranian lynx feed on a variety of prey, including hare Lepus spp., wild sheep Ovis orientalis, wild goat Capra aegagrus and rarely livestock. Although lynx-human conflicts were considered negligible, poaching accounted for 29.2% of the known lynx mortality, followed by herdsmen and shepherd dogs, road accidents and other factors. Habitat degradation, traditional livestock husbandry, and prey depletion were recognised as the most significant threats to lynx in Iran. Conservation measures recommended are (1) evaluation of the conservation status of protected areas with lynx occurrence, (2) survey of lynx population status, research and conservation planning and (3) public awareness and engagement of local people.

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Table T1

Iran is most likely the western boundary of the Pallas’s cat’s, or manul Otocolobus manul global distribution range. The Pallas’s cat is amongst the least-studied felids in Iran and basic questions about its status and natural history have yet to be answered. Our review of the available information suggests significant increases in the range of the species previously known from Iran. North-eastern Iran remains a hotspot of Pallas’s cat occurrence in the country, but there are a growing number of recent confirmed records from southern slopes of Alborz Mountains, as well as the south-central provinces. Human disturbances such as mining activities and traditional pastoralism, particularly during summer when alpine and sub-alpine rangelands are occupied by flocks of livestock, might have adverse impact on the Pallas’s cat. The lack of scientific understanding of the Pallas’s cat in Iran restricts our ability to conserve the species.

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Table 1

We conducted a national survey to evaluate the recent status of the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in Iran. Leopard presence records were investigated in 204 areas under the auspices of the Department of Environment DoE, i.e. in National Parks NPs, Wildlife Reserves WRs and Protected Areas PAs and elsewhere outside these areas within the leopard’s putative range from 2007 to 2011. Questionnaires were sent to DoE provincial and regional offices and we conducted interviews with hunters, local shepherds and villagers to investigate illegal killing and poisoning of leopards. Subsequently, records were classified into two reliability categories of confirmed C1 or probable presence C2. We plotted the most recent Persian leopard distribution map in Iran indicating the reliability of the records. Results show that leopard distribution is interrupted in a vast area covering about 6 provinces in the north-west of Iran, where formerly northern and southern leopard distributions were considerably connected. We therefore hypothesise that leopard distribution in Iran is splitting into a northern and a southern range, with the risk of fragmentation. Almost 70% of the leopard mortalities during the study period resulted from illegal killing and poisoning. While leopard occurrence is strongly related to wild goat Capra aegagrus densities, wild goat numbers are correlated with protection level, size and number of years under protection for each protected area. We recommend a number of research and conservation priorities such as field surveys to assess corridors connecting leopard main habitats particularly in the provinces located in the north-west of Iran to improve the current and planned conservation programmes. Further transboundary cooperation among the neighbouring countries is essential to improve the Persian leopard conservation in the region.

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The jungle cat Felis chaus is among the least known felids worldwide. A national survey was conducted to assess and document the status and distribution of this species in Iran. A total of 280 jungle cat presence records have been collected, including road kills, injured animals, hunted and trapped specimens and observations and reports made by experts. Observations reported by local communities living inside or close to jungle cat habitats and by inexperienced people were also recorded. We then classified the data into three categories (i.e. C1: confirmed presence, C2: probable presence, C3: unconfirmed presence) on the basis of confirmability of records. Findings indicated that the jungle cat is distributed at least in 23 out of the 31 provinces of Iran. A total of 69 records came from protected areas, i.e. National Parks NPs, Wildlife Reserves WRs and Protected Areas PAs, covering an area of 38,343 km², which is 23.5% of the total area of all protected areas under the auspices of the Department of Environment DoE of Iran. The species was found at altitudes ranging from 45 m to 4,178 m and in a variety of habitat types from plains and agriculture lands to the mountains. However, it was mostly recorded in shrub lands and woodlands. We suppose that the diet of jungle cat in Iran mainly consists of fish, birds (waterfowl, poultry and galliform birds) and rodents. More detailed studies and status assessment of the species on a local scale, particularly in the areas affected by land use changes and severe dry condition are essential. Several conservation measures are recommended to improve the status of the species in Iran.

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Table T1

For studying the distribution, ecology and threats of the smallest felid species in Iran, the sand cat Felis margarita, we gathered all published and unpublished data from across the country and categorised them into hard fact C1 and anecdotal data C2. Based on 46 presence points (C1 = 26 and C2 = 20) from 6 out of 31 provinces, sand cat distribution in Iran is limited to the desert habitats in the centre, east and south-east of the country. Sand dunes with Saxaul trees are the main habitats for sand cat in Iran, as well as arid flat plains with little plant distribution. Potential prey species are desert rodents, reptiles, hare and probably some bird species. Killing by shepherd dogs and trapping by locals in houbara bustard snares are the major threats to survival of this elusive cat in Iran. Desert safaris and road accident may become a potential threat to the existence of sand cats in fragile desert habitats. For better conservation actions, more fine-scale distribution studies especially in eastern and south-eastern parts of the country, diet, estimate of home range size and density of sand cats in Iran are required.

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