--- description: Only two female Asiatic cheetahs are believed to survive in the only country where they now exist: Iran title: A Rare Cheetah May Be on the Verge of Extinction in Iran image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt717d496357f5925d/6988a44bbc6cfc72333de6ad/ap_517612915461.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # One of the World's Rarest Animals May Be on the Verge of Extinction in Iran by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2016 8:08 AM CUT  In this May 25, 2014, photo, 7-year-old male Asiatic cheetah, named Koushki, crouches at the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in Jajarm, northeastern Iran In this May 25, 2014, photo, 7-year-old male Asiatic cheetah, named Koushki, crouches at the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in Jajarm, northeastern IranVahid Salemi—AP by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2016 8:08 AM CUT The rare Asiatic cheetah, already severely endangered, may be in greater danger of extinction than ever before, as conservationists say only [two females](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/two-female-asiatic-cheetahs-remain-in-wild-in-iran-say-conservationists "undefined") of the species are known to survive in the only country where it exists: Iran. Only 40 Asiatic cheetahs remain in the wild, all of them in Iran, the _Guardian_ reports. Conservationists worry that without an adequate female population, they may not be around much longer. “The situation is very critical,” Morteza Eslami, head of Tehran-based NGO Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) told the _Guardian_, adding that five years of monitoring have revealed that female numbers in particular have “significantly dropped.” **Read More:** [_See 17 Animals on the Verge of Going Extinct_](http://time.com/4341921/endangered-species-day-gorillas/ "undefined") Despite Iran’s efforts to raise awareness about the animal — through representations on stamps and even the [national football team’s attire](http://www.ir.undp.org/content/iran/en/home/presscenter/articles/2014/02/03/cheetah-logo-unveiled-on-iran-national-football-team-s-uniform-for-2014-world-cup.html "undefined") — 48 cheetahs have died in the country over the past 15 years. Of those, 21 have been killed by farmers, 15 in car accidents, seven from natural causes and five by hunters. A third female is reportedly in captivity at the Pardisan Park research center in Tehran, but has not yet mated with the male she shares the center with. \[[_Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/30/two-female-asiatic-cheetahs-remain-in-wild-in-iran-say-conservationists "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4473737/iran-asiatic-cheetah-female-two-endangered/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4473737/iran-asiatic-cheetah-female-two-endangered/"},"headline":"One of the World's Rarest Animals May Be on the Verge of Extinction in Iran","datePublished":"2016-08-31T08:08:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:18:23.320Z","description":"Only two female Asiatic cheetahs are known to be alive in the wild","url":"https://time.com/4473737/iran-asiatic-cheetah-female-two-endangered/","keywords":["animals","Iran","Tehran","endangered"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt717d496357f5925d/6988a44bbc6cfc72333de6ad/ap_517612915461.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt717d496357f5925d/6988a44bbc6cfc72333de6ad/ap_517612915461.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mideast Iran Asiatic Cheetah","caption":"Mideast Iran Asiatic Cheetah","creditText":"Vahid Salemi—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4473737/iran-asiatic-cheetah-female-two-endangered/","name":"One of the World's Rarest Animals May Be on the Verge of Extinction in Iran"}}]}] ```