Total:50
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2018-07-14 09:34
By Farnaz Heidari
White-headed ducks victims of steep decline
White-headed duck has endured high levels of habitat loss in Iran. Long-term population declines have intensified as a result of wetlands' changes and also droughts. Iran's dying wetlands were once breeding habitats of white-headed ducks and now are vulnerable to drainage, pollution, and other disturbances.
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2018-07-08 11:21
By Farnaz Heidari
What choices do we have for saving Asiatic cheetahs?
There are recent reports on the successful cheetah translocations from South Africa to Liwonde National Park in Malawi led by African Parks.
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2018-07-08 11:15
By Farnaz Heidari
Threat poachers are posing to leopards
Poaching is a controversial term and the issue remains complicated. Scientists, environmentalists and most of animal lovers are concerned with poaching effects on different wildlife populations. But in a country such as Iran, the big challenge of conservation is linked with reliable data especially in the case of poaching.
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2018-06-02 12:31
Penned by Farnaz Heidari
A legacy of agricultural poisons
The potentially lethal impact of DDT on wildlife and especially birds of prey was first noted in the late 1950s. And now we know, spraying to control pests can head to poisoning of the environment and living creatures just like humans.
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2018/05/11
By Farnaz Heidari
Put a price on endangered species
One of the world's rarest birds of prey, the Spanish Imperial Eagle, was thought to be in recovery in the early 1980s but numbers have declined and now the species is qualified as Vulnerable (VU) necessitating comprehensive management plans.
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2018-04-27 09:55
by Farnaz Heidari
Detailed action plan prerequisite for conservation of lynxes in Iran
Lynx is the animal that conservationists have distinguished as an indication of an intact environment. Now, some groups of dedicated conservationists are working to save the wild populations in natural ecosystems.
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2018/04/15
By Farnaz Heidari
Back on the wolves' challenge
Wolves are major predators and their main prey consists of wild sheep, gazelle and small vertebrates. When hungry they will also feed on lizards, vegetables, fruit, and even domestic livestock.
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2018-01-27 09:59
By Farnaz Heidari
Dimming the light of sharks' life
Sharks are hunters par excellence. They frequent a wide range of habitats. Most of sharks are magnificently designed. Multiple rows of replaceable triangular teeth, and also a battery of receptors that almost defy human comprehension, considered as the best tools for a precedent apex predator.
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2018-01-24 10:15
By Farnaz Heidari
Vague, imprecise ecosystem, wildlife management approaches in Iran
In the early 1800s, bird expert Alexander Wilson watched a single migrating flock of passenger pigeons darken the sky for over 4 hours. He estimated that this flock was more than 2 billion birds strong, some 386 kilometers long, and 1.6 kilometers wide.
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2017-12-16 10:18
By Farnaz Heidari
Zoos seen as saviors of endangered animals
Zoos can effectively work together to conserve some of the endangered animals. Zoos have the necessary knowledge and experience in animal care, veterinary medicine, animal behavior, reproductive biology, and genetics to establish captive animal populations of endangered animals.
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2017-12-03 20:20
By Farnaz Heidari
International Cheetah Day: Let’s save the fastest beauties
Asiatic Cheetah which is considered to be a sleek and beautiful cat throughout history is the fastest land-animal that can accelerate from 0 to 96.6 km/h in under three seconds.
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2017-11-27 13:22
By Farnaz Heidari
Conservation a ‘never ending’ effort as it confronts ‘never ending’ disturbance processes
The Asiatic cheetah nowadays only exists in Iran where its survival raises multiple challenges. To prevent the extinction of this iconic cat species from its last refuge in Asia, it is essential to draw the attention of people and generate enough positive support.
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2017-10-24 14:23
By Farnaz Heidari
Data collection, bycatch reduction, halting illegal fishing slow sharks decline
The demand for shark products, including meat and fins, is increasing in Asia. Hammerhead sharks and the sharks from the Carcharhinidae family that have ‘black fins’ are susceptible for this kind of exploition in Asia.
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2017-10-02 08:54
By Farnaz Heidari
‘It will take a lifetime of dedication to save Asiatic Cheetah’
The Asiatic cheetah also known as Iranian cheetah is a Critically Endangered cheetah subspecies surviving today only in Iran. It once occurred from the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East to the Kyzylkum Desert, Caspian region, Pakistan and India, but has been extirpated there during the 20th century.
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2017/09/03
By Farnaz Heidari
Felids under threat
Habitat fragmentation caused by agriculture and in general human interference results in the division of large, continuous habitats into smaller, more isolated remnants.
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2017-08-26 09:35
By Farnaz Heidari
Pivotal concerns about feral and free roaming dogs
Our susceptible wildlife is closing in on the extinction by human-wildlife conflicts. The resultant negative of human interference on wild animals and their habitats is widespread. Now dogs are often the most abundant terrestrial carnivore as Julie Young and her colleagues told the Bio-Science in 2011.
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2017-08-20 10:50
By Farnaz Heidari
Digging deep into human-carnivore conflicts in Iran
Human-carnivore conflicts is rapidly increasing in Iran. For instance just recently a young boy who was tending his sheep was attacked by a black bear on July 10, 2017 on the outskirts of a village in Jiroft, southeastern province of Kerman.
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2017/08/02
By Farnaz Heidari
Waxwing poaching in Iran on the rise
Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Pardisan Park have been facing an immense number of wildlife illegal trades; unfortunately poaching and illegal trade is all-encompassing. Many species are added to the list of poaching currently, but waxwing poaching is unprecedented and the species is doomed to extinction.
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2017/07/27
By Farnaz Heidari
Woodpeckers of Barzok are affected by asymmetrical pattern of development
Most woodpeckers are tied to tree habitats but dwell on a wide variety of species of trees regardless of their age and size.
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2017-07-24 10:57
By Farnaz Heidari
Whale sharks subject to harassment in Iran’s southern waters
The whale shark is aptly named. Bigger than any other shark, it is closer in size to giant whales but it is the largest fish in the sea, can grow to 12m in length and weigh up to 12 tons. With its giant mouth and large gill slits, the whale shark is a filter feeder.
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2017-07-11 10:36
By Farnaz Heidari
Sturdy Aragog of Harry Potter found in Iran
Spiders are some of the most feared and least understood creatures in the animal world. These hairy hunters are famous for spinning webs but also very useful to humans, because they control insect pests and keep their numbers in check.
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2017/07/07
By Farnaz Heidari
Lizards in depth
Over 4,675 species of lizard found around the world, according to the San Diego Zoo. Some sources raised the number and pointed to approximately 6,000 species. Lizards are found all over the world in almost every type of terrain. Some of them live in trees, some confined to deserts and some being in contact with rocks.
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2017/06/19
By Farnaz Heidari
White-headed ducks fall into drastic decline
Long-term population declines for the white-headed duck have recently intensified in Iran as a result of habitat loss at the key sites such as Fars Province, Sistan Province, Lake Gurigöl and also south of Lake Urmia.
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2017/06/12
By Farnaz Heidari
Spotted owls facing their nemesis
Spotted owl upper parts are brown, colder and darker with white spots; dusky facial disc with broad white patch over and below the eyes, forming broad white spectacles, crown and nape finely spotted white. When perched, a broad white collar around the front of the neck is distinctive; under-parts strongly barred or spotted. Juveniles are gingery, with diffuse barring below. As mentioned before, spotted owls are crepuscular but frequently seen in daytime.
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2017/05/29
By Farnaz Heidari
Dragged to extinction by dogs and cats
The thylacine -a marsupial- was once prevalent across Australia and Tasmania. Today it seems that domestic dogs and other introduced animals have outcompeted the species. It was also persecuted by farmers and is now extinct, although there are continued reports of sightings but all are inauthentic.
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2017/05/21
By Farnaz Heidari
Canine distemper virus wildlife mortal enemy
Diseases are parts of life, but in a well-balanced ecosystem virulent epidemics are rare. Disease can even be beneficial to a population, weeding out old or weak animals. Problems occur when a population of animals is exposed to a new disease to which it has not had a chance to build up natural immunity.
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2017/05/15
By Farnaz Heidari
Wolves’ precarious future in Iran
Over the last two weeks, two children from Zanjan Province were attacked by wolves. On 13 May one of these wolves was shot dead. This is the sad story of wolves in Iran. Wherever wolves come into contact with people, the animals are regarded as dangerous pests who will- given the chance- kill people and livestock. They are poisoned, trapped and shot not only for their conviction, but also for human fear.
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2017/05/10
By Farnaz Heidari
Mugger crocodile as a wild beast
The beautiful broad-snouted Crocodile kept at Tehran Zoo is a vulnerable species and also known as Mugger. The snout of this Mugger has expanded, this head-on view allows the crocodile to grasp its prey without getting any attention. Drought and also habitat destruction led to their population decline. Some individuals survive today primarily in captivity. Lack of awareness about their place in the web of life were pushed species such as Muggers to the brink of extinction.
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2017/05/02
By Farnaz Heidari
Birds of prey: Egyptian vulture
Including some of Iran’s biggest birds, the vultures soar high up, using superb eyesight to spot potential food on the ground: they eat meat, preferably freshly dead animals. They need warm, rising air or up-draughts and live in mountainous areas. Vultures, such as Egyptian Vulture, have very long wings, soaring on warm air with little expenditure of energy.
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2017-04-24 08:38
By Farnaz Heidari
Sad stories on the Earth
Environmental issues have increasingly become an essential topic not just in newspapers but also on TV too. Some experts believe that it is an urgent priority to use the power of TV for helping to heal the scars the Earth is bearing.
