This is an Asian cheetah, its name is Piruz", it has attracted the attention of thousands of Iranians from birth. Because it is the only case of the subspecies successfully breeding in captivity for the first time, it is also the only survivor of the female cheetah "Iranian" triplet. Unfortunately, just a few days ago, Piruz "died suddenly of kidney failure and survived for only ten months."
The Asian cheetah is endemic to the Asian region. Their slender size makes them very good at running. In the past, Asian cheetahs were found in the steppes of India, Pakistan, Russia and the Middle East, and their traces have spread throughout the Middle East and South Asia. But due to excessive hunting, habitat degradation, and the fact that their prey was hunted to extinction by humans, these cats gradually went extinct.
The big cat has not been witnessed in India and Afghanistan since the 1948s, according to records. A survey conducted in Pakistan in 2001 found no traces of the big cat. Asian cheetahs are extinct in these countries. (The existing Asian cheetah from India was introduced from Africa).
The remaining Asian cheetahs are basically all living in Iran. Because in Iranian culture, the Asian cheetah is a symbol of power and strength. The animal is considered an important part of the local cultural heritage, so Iran has long been working to save the Asian cheetah, a critically endangered species worldwide. But as Iran's population grows, so does the number of cattle and sheep in the livestock industry, which has become the number one threat to squeeze the living space of Asian cheetahs.
Some Iranian herders even covet the rich resources of national parks, hoping to kill and extinct Asian cheetahs, make national parks meaningless and be banned, and then obtain aquatic resources for their flocks. This practice is tantamount to quenching thirst, destroying the biological chain at the cost of more species disappearing. But it is clear that the government does not have a good solution to the conflict between Asian cheetahs and herders. The Asian cheetah population, which has declined from about 200-300 in 1970 to just 12 today, is critically endangered. They may disappear soon.
In ancient times, adult Asian cheetahs were not only a source of high-quality fur, but also the target of hunting by some princes and nobles. A well-trained Asian cheetah is a symbol of wealth, and many powerful families like to raise them at home. But in the past, this animal could not be bred in captivity, and it was only possible to domesticate and grow up if it was captured at birth, which not only increased the difficulty of breeding, but also caused a large number of Asian cheetahs to die.
The birth of the baby cheetah Piruz has always been regarded as a symbol of the species' first successful breeding in captivity, which greatly encourages and increases the determination and morale of the local people to save the Asian cheetah. But in the end, Pirouz was pronounced dead in the early hours of Tuesday, and the rescue effort was declared a failure. However, although it did not save the loss of this little life in the end, it also accumulated valuable experience for saving Asian cheetahs.
It is understood that the male cubs of the triplet at that time were born in captivity by caesarean section, which caused the mother not to know the cub, thus forcing the cub to live alone without the mother's care. Subsequently, one cub died of a left lung deformity and lung adhesions, surviving for only three days. Another cub died two weeks later because of the quality of the milk.
But in fact, nine months ago, when he was only one month old, the problem of kidney failure was already very obvious, the disease originated from inbreeding, which is the inevitable result of the drastic decline in the habitat and individual population of Asian cheetahs. At that time, the local authorities did not disclose the situation for other considerations. Therefore, Pirouz's death may have already appeared. And the local treatment facilities do not even have some necessary medical facilities. This made many caring people angry and demanded that the local authorities investigate openly and impartially.
But regardless of the results of the investigation, Pirouz's death is no longer a simple problem, but a social problem. Various factors have restricted and dumped the living space of this animal. Until we wanted to save, but found that there was nothing we could do. For now, we can only hope that before the Asian cheetahs disappear completely, a way can be found to save them so that the tragedy will not happen again.