Iranian environmentalists have mobilised to protect the world's last Asiatic cheetahs, estimated to number just 50 and faced with the threats of becoming roadkill, a shortage of prey and farmers' dogs.
"The last time our photo traps caught a cheetah here, it was two years ago. But we're sure they are still in the region," said Rajab Ali Kargar, deputy head of the National Protection Project for the Asiatic Cheetah.
His camp is just a stone's throw from an old royal hunting pavilion in the Garmsar area of Semnan province, around 120 kilometres south of Tehran, but these days the focus is on preservation rather than killing.
The world's fastest land animal, capable of reaching speeds of 120 kilometres per hour, once stalked habitats from the eastern reaches of India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal.
Their numbers have stabilised in parts of southern Africa, but they have practically disappeared from northern Africa and Asia.
The subspecies "Acinonyx jubatus venaticus", commonly known as the Asiatic cheetah, is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, mostly due to past hunting.
Iran launched its protection project in 2001 with the support of the United Nations "when we realised Iran was the last country to have any Asiatic cheetahs", said Hooman Jokar, who heads the programme.
It set up a network, now numbering 92 specially trained park wardens, who cover a total of six million hectares in central and northern Iran.
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"Every day, we cover hundreds of kilometres to track wild animals in the park," said warden Reza Shah-Hosseini, as some 20 gazelles galloped past behind him.
There were 20 sightings of the cheetah in Semnan province last year.
"Many think that without this programme the cheetah would have totally disappeared from Iran," said Mr Jokar.
The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s was devastating for wild animals, particularly along the country's western border.
It was thought for a time that the cheetahs had been wiped out, until they were found to have retreated into the central desert regions.
Three major problems have befallen the Asiatic cheetah in recent time: cars, farmers and having nothing to eat.
"When we launched the project, the biggest danger was the lack of prey," said Mr Jokar.
The team focused on building up numbers of gazelles and rabbits for the cheetahs to eat, which has been largely successful.
Cars and farmers remain a threat, however.
"Today, the cheetahs leave their zones and approach villages. Farmers and their dogs kill them to protect their herds," said Mr Jokar.
A pack of dogs can overpower a cheetah, he added.
At least 20 cheetahs have been killed in road accidents over the past 16 years.
In its bid to raise public awareness, the project's most successful move was putting an image of the cheetah on the national football team's jersey during the 2014 World Cup and the Asian Games in the same year.
"That move had an extraordinary effect in educating and mobilising people," said Mr Jokar. "Now nearly everyone knows the cheetah is in danger."
Since early September, a new campaign, headed by popular actress Hedieh Tehrani, has raised some eight billion rials (Dh844,705) in just over a month as part of efforts to relocate farms in order to reduce confrontations with the cheetah.
"It's the biggest mobilisation of civil society that I've witnessed," said Mr Jokar.
There are also hopes for a cheetah couple held in captivity in one of Tehran's biggest parks, Pardisan.
A first pregnancy failed, but the wardens say it is a positive sign that they are mating.
"The females are very picky," said Mr Kargar.
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
