Amid destruction and devastation in the wake of war, Iranians have found a rare glimmer of hope among one of the nation\u2019s most endangered species.<\/p>\n
Iran has recorded a jump this year in its official number of Asiatic cheetahs, a subspecies, now found only in Iran, that has been on the brink of extinction for years.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Iranian authorities were aware of just 17 wild cats. But in 2026, Bagher Nezami, the project manager for the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian state media that conservationists had recorded 21 new adult cheetahs and six cubs.<\/p>\n
The Asiatic cheetah is one of the world\u2019s fastest land animals. It has a smaller head, shorter legs and a stronger neck than the African cheetah. The Asiatic cheetahs used to roam the Arabian Peninsula, the lands around the Caspian Sea, and South Asia. Now, a species once favored by kings prowls only Iran\u2019s eastern desert and is under the constant threat of hunters, speeding highway drivers and wild dogs.<\/p>\n
Still, the cheetah\u2019s survival in Iran is a source of national pride. The national soccer team\u2019s jerseys are emblazoned with the spots of the wild cat, while the country\u2019s Meraj Airlines has sought to raise awareness of the critically endangered species by painting cheetahs across its jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Asiatic cheetah is really a symbol in Iran,\u201d Iman Ebrahimi, an Iranian conservationist, said in an interview. \u201cI think a big part of that is because people feel a connection to it. It has a place in our culture and history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ancient Persia\u2019s kings used the agile cats to hunt down gazelles. But in recent decades, the cheetah has become a victim of poaching, captivity and neglect, and its population rapidly dwindled to just a few dozen registered cats.<\/p>\n
More recently, the cheetah has been embraced by some backers of Iran\u2019s political opposition as a symbol of innocence and resistance. During the country\u2019s widespread \u201cWomen, Life, Freedom\u201d demonstrations of 2022, the protest anthem \u201cBayareh\u201d paid homage to Pirouz, a beloved cheetah cub born in captivity who later died.<\/p>\n
Iranian environmentalists caution against too much optimism over the increased population count. Increased identifications of a rare, wild species can reflect changes in environmental conditions or monitoring efforts over a given year, Mr. Ebrahimi said, rather than population recovery. Young cheetahs also typically have a low survival rate.<\/p>\n
War, environmentalists say, typically undermines conservation efforts, and the ever-worsening economic crisis in Iran is expected to deepen cuts to initiatives to save endangered animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn war, wild animals are, for the most part, forgotten and neglected,\u201d said Morad Tahbaz, co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation. <\/p>\n
Poachers also often take advantage during the chaos of wartime to hunt endangered species, he said.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s environmentalists face the added problem of having long been objects of suspicion<\/a> among the country\u2019s intelligence apparatus.<\/p>\n Security services have been wary of the conservationists\u2019 close work with Western environmental and activist groups. They have also asserted, without providing evidence, that the camera equipment conservationists use in remote areas to monitor wild species are actually being used to conduct espionage for American and Israeli intelligence services.<\/p>\n In 2018, the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps arrested nine members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, including Mr. Tahbaz, and charged them with espionage. Several of those arrested said they had been tortured, and one died in detention<\/a>. All were released after spending years in prison.<\/p>\n