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| Wildlife of Iran includes its flora and fauna and
their natural habitats. One of the most famous members of wildlife in
Iran are the world's last surviving, critically endangered
Asiatic Cheetah also known as
the Iranian Cheetah, which are today found nowhere else but in Iran.
Iran had lost all its Asiatic Lion
and the now extinct Caspian Tigers
by the earlier part of the twentieth century. Iran's wildlife is
composed of several animal species including
bears,
gazelles, wild pigs,
wolves,
jackals, panthers,
Eurasian lynx, and
foxes. Other domestic animals include,
sheeps, goats,
cattle,
horses, water buffalo,
donkeys, and
camels. The pheasant,
partridge,
stork, eagles and
falcon are also native to
Iran.
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Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus).
Photo by: Seyed Babak Mousavi. |
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The Persian leopard is said
to be the largest of all the subspecies of leopards in the world. The
main range of this species in Iran closely overlaps with that of
Bezoar Ibex. Hence, it is found
throughout Alborz and
Zagros mountain ranges, as
well as smaller ranges within the Iranian plateau. Leopard population is
very sparse, due to loss of habitat, loss of natural prey, and
population fragmentation. Apart from
Bezoar Ibex, wild sheep,
boar, deer
(either Maral red deer or
roe deer), and domestic animals
constitute leopards' diet in Iran.
More than one-tenth of the country is forested. The most extensive
growths are found on the mountain slopes rising from the Caspian Sea,
with stands of oak/a>,
ash, elm,
cypress, and other valuable trees.
On the plateau proper, areas of scrub oak appear on the best-watered
mountain slopes, and villagers cultivate orchards and grow the plane
tree, poplar, willow,
walnut, beech,
maple, and
mulberry. Wild plants and
shrubs spring from the barren land in
the spring and afford pasturage, but the summer sun burns them away.
According to FAO reports , the major types
of forests that exist in Iran and their respective areas are:
- Caspian forests of the
northern districts (33,000 km²)
- Limestone mountainous forests
in the northeastern districts (Juniperus
forests, 13,000 km²)
- Pistachio forests in the
eastern, southern and southeastern districts (26,000 km²)
- Oak forests in the central and
western districts (100,000 km²)
- Shrubs of the Kavir (desert)
districts in the central and northeastern part of the country
(10,000 km²)
- Sub-tropical forests of
the southern coast (5,000 km²) like the
Hara forests.
More than 2,000 plant species are
grown in Iran. The land covered by Iran’s natural flora is four times
that of the Europe’s.
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The Asiatic Wild Ass ( Equus hemionus ) moved from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2008 |
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| The Asiatic Wild Ass ( Equus hemionus ) moved from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2008 because it is estimated to have declined by more than 50% over the past 16 years, and it continuing to decline. |
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The Caspian Seal ( Pusa caspica ) has moved from Vulnerable to Endangered |
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The Caspian Seal ( Pusa caspica ) has moved from Vulnerable to Endangered. It occurs throughout the Caspian Sea, using the winter ice sheets as a surface on which to give birth and nurse pups. Its population has declined by 90 percent over the last 100 years due to unsustainable levels of commercial hunting, habitat degradation and pollution. |
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