Friends of Scientifica
leopard, snow
leopard and clouded
leopard. [8] It
formerly
occurred
in Persia, Canaan, Mesopotamia, Baluchistan, from Sindh in the west to Bengal in the east, and
from Rampur and Rohilkund in the north to Nerbudda in the south. It differs from the African
lion by less inflated auditory bullae, a larger tail tuft and a less developed mane.
3. Asiatic cheetah
The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), also known as the Iranian cheetah, is
a critically endangeredcheetah subspecies surviving today only in Iran. It used to occur
in India as well, where it is locally extinct. The Asiatic cheetah lives mainly in Iran's vast
central desert in fragmented pieces of remaining suitable habitat. Although once common, the
cheetah was driven to extinction in other parts of Southwest Asia from Arabia to India
including Afghanistan. As of 2013, only 20 cheetahs were identified in Iran but some areas
remained to be surveyed. [3][4] The total population is estimated to be 40 to 70 individuals,
with road accidents accounting for 40% of deaths. Efforts to stop the construction of a road
through the core of the Bafq Protected Area were unsuccessful. [6] In order to raise
international awareness for the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah, an illustration was used
on the jerseys of the Iran national football team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Currently in
2015, it is estimated that approximately 50 cheetahs are living in the wild of Iran, however
their numbers are rising. The Asiatic cheetah separated from its African relative between
32,000 and 67,000 years ago. Along with theEurasian lynx and the Persian leopard, it is one
of three remaining species of large cats in Iran today. During the British colonial times in
India it was called hunting leopard, a name derived from the ones that were kept in captivity
in large numbers by the Indian royalty to use in hunting wild antelopes. [11] In Dutch, the
cheetah is still called jachtluipaard. The Hindi word चीता cītā is derived from
the Sanskrit word chitraka meaning "speckled".
4. Indian wild Ass
The Indian wild ass or Baluchi wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) also called the ghudkhur in
the local Gujarati language, is a subspecies of the onager native to Southern Asia.
Previously in 2009, the previous census estimated 4,038 Indian wildass. However, the
population was still growing. In December 2014, the population was estimated at 4,451
individuals. It has increased from a jump of 454. However, as of 2015, the current census of
the Indian wild ass population has increased to more than 4,800 individuals in and outside of
theWild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary of India.
5. Dhole
The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a canid native to Central, South and Southeast Asia. Other
English names for the species include Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red
wolf (not to be confused with Canis rufus), red dog, and mountain wolf. It is genetically close
to species within the genus Canis, though its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it
lacks a third lower molar, and the upper molars sport only a single cusp as opposed to 2–
4 During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe and North America, but
became restricted to its historical range 12,000–18,000 years ago. The dhole is a highly social
animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple
breeding females. Such clans usually consist of 12 individuals, but groups of over 40 are
known. It is a diurnal pack hunter which preferentially targets medium and large
sized ungulates. In tropical forests, the dhole competes with tigersand leopards, targeting
April, 2016