Iran may help Russia to restore leopard population
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Iran may help Russia to restore leopard population
Iran may help Russia to restore the population of Anatolian leopards
in Russia's Caucasus, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources' press
service said on Tuesday.
The issue was discussed during a meeting between Russian Deputy
Minister of Natural Resources Igor Maydanov and Iran's Ambassador to
Russia Seyyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi.
"The two leopards given to Russia by Turkmenistan are currently
acclimatizing at Sochi National Park," Maydanov said.
The leopards were brought to the Russian Black Sea resort from the ex-
Soviet republic in September.
"To restore the leopard population, at least two pairs of cats are
required," the deputy minister said, adding Russia had asked
Turkmenistan and Iran to provide two female leopards.
The Iranian negotiator said in his turn he was ready to discuss the
issue with the country's wildlife protection authorities.
During an annual televised question-and-answer session with Russians
last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for the
conservation of endangered animals, including leopards, in the
country.
Putin is taking active part in programs to study and preserve
endangered animals, including the Amur tiger and the white whale.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only 870-1300
Anatolian leopards left in the world. In Russia, the Anatolian leopard
is only found in some remote areas of the Eastern Caucasus.
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)