Thread by @MSFarhadinia

Yesterday, Iran lost an Asiatic #cheetah pregnant with 3 in a tragic car collision.
Fewer than 30 cheetahs exist
Outrageous reactions filled media why gov did not take mitigations to stop cheetah road collisions
Totally right, but let's see what is the problem? /1
#Thread

2/It is not a normal road, but a major highway. It was not built recently, but was part of silk road for ages. Sadly, it is part of #BeltandRoad with serious expansion plans. So, the future is not good for cheetahs
Check this out:
nature.com/articles/s4155…

3/The road passes between three main #cheetah reserves
There are evidence that Asiatic cheetahs regularly move between these reserves, sometimes up-to 400 km, making them wide ranging animals

Check this out:
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

4/ With this old road, it was not until 2009 when the first road causality confirmed there. 6 cheetahs in a few years, equal sex ratio.
Then, gov put up road signs and 4 km fences in the hot spot. There were a few small underpasses.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

5/Worked? Yes🙂 No further causalities along that hotspot for a few years

But there were concerns
1 No cheetah from Turan (S road) was seen in N reserves anymore. Connectivity ⬇️?
2 After a few years of zero casualty, 5 cheetahs again killed on road
Where? 40km from fenced area

6/One more concern: were zero causality years because of fence (intervention), Or, because cheetah number were low so mortality was also low (density dep)?
During zero casualty years, number of cheetah families detected were as few as half of families detected in 2022.

7/Enough with concerns? Here more
There is a huge underpass in the new causality hotspot, wide and high

In 2022, a cheetah was tracked into underpass, but returned half way through. Found dead on the road, just on the underpass.
Why cheetahs take risky routes?

📸A.Ranjbaran

8/In 2022, a text system established to SMS all drivers in the cheetah hotspot, dozens of volunteers stood beside road to alarm passing drivers to slow down, and more road signs were put up.
Gov needs to take more serious interventions like light or fences.

9/However, will they be effective to prevent further casualties even after all these huge investments?
🤔Underpasses not used by cheetahs
😳Fences seem to affect connectivity between reserves
🥺If cheetah number increases, do they pass a new part of the road and get killed?

10/ Nobody knows 😥
But we know we have lost min 10 cheetahs 🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆 on this highway
This is a clear example of how it is difficult to protect such a fragile population of Asiatic cheetahs amidst all these uncertainties.