Russia Seeks to Reestablish Asiatic Cheetah in its Southern Caspian Regions

Tehran, Jan. 09, 10 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Russian and Iranian ecologists plan to revive extinct species of Caspian Tiger and Asiatic Cheetahs in their respective regions. Last week, a group of Russian ecologists headed by the country’s deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergey Donskoy, arrived in Tehran.

 

The Russian team would cooperate with Iranian counterparts for ways to revive these majestic cat species that went extinct by the end of the last century, Iran’s English language Press TV reported.

 

Earlier Russian scientists requested delivery of Asiatic Cheetahs to Russia for their revival program. In Russia, Cheetahs were at one time numerous in southern regions but went extinct over 50 years ago. Cheetah is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique in its speed, while lacking climbing abilities.

 

The species is the only living member of the genus Acinonyx. It is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 460 m (1,500 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 103 km/h (64 mph) in three seconds, faster than most supercars. Recent studies confirm the cheetah's status as the fastest land animal. [1] There are only 50 to 60 remaining Asiatic Cheetas in central parts of Iran.

 

Iran also seeks cooperation with Russian ecologists to revive the Caspian Tiger species now totally extinct since 1950’s due to over poaching and other environmental factors. Scientist could revive the Caspian Tiger from its closets link the Siberian Tiger through DNA codes manipulations. According to data Caspian Tigers differ from Siberian Tiger by only one letter of genetic code.

 

Also known as the Persian tiger, Turanian tiger, Mazandaran tiger or Hyrcanian tiger was the westernmost population of Siberian tiger, found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan until it apparently became extinct in the late 1950s, though there have been several alleged sightings of the tiger. Though originally thought to have been a distinct subspecies, known as Panthera tigris virgata genetic research in 2009 proved that the animal was virtually identical to the Siberian tiger.

 

 

1, 2 - wikipedia