Ali Akbar Ghorbanlou told Mehr News local correspondent on Thursday that around 20-30 Asiatic cheetahs lived in the park; “spotting of the cheetah and panther provides evidence that the wildlife was booming in the park; this makes it crucial to save the species through providing community training to villagers on how to act when they encounter a large cat,” he added. “The camera traps installed in different parts of the biosphere reserve serve surveillance and watching over the wildlife and their pray; they caught a glimpse of an adult panther; we recommend villagers to inform this office whenever they came across remains or footprints of the wildlife or illegal hunters; in doing this, they will greatly help save the large cats on the verge of extinction.”
Ghorbanlou hailed local villagers’ initiative to disperse dry grass as fodder for herbivorous animals as helping feed these animals in a cold season where grass was rare and difficult to find in the heart of the wildlife refuge; “the local cattle farmers have little knowledge of Asiatic cheetah and panther and thus they would react violently if a wild cat invaded their cattle; to address the issue, providing training and information to local communities has been an option to which IRIB should also contribute,” he suggested.
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