Persian Leopard Near Recovery

A female Persian leopard under medical care has now almost recovered and will soon be released back into the wild.

Undergoing care at a wildlife facility in Qazvin (143 km northwest of Tehran), the leopard “is currently in such good health condition that it can return to her habitat this week”, ILNA quoted Ali Teymouri, director of the Hunting and Fishing Office at the Department of Environment, as saying.

The Persian leopard was found caught in a boar trap in Roudsar, Gilan Province, in February. Her injuries were so severe that environment officials were compelled to bring her to Tehran’s Pardisan Park where one of Iran’s most well-equipped wildlife rehabilitation facilities is located.

CT scans revealed a lesion on her spine, which experts said was untreatable and recommended euthanizing the animal and freezing her ovaries. Nevertheless, Teymouri’s office insisted that she be operated on.

On Feb. 10, she underwent a spinal surgery at Dr. Hamidreza Fattahian’s veterinary clinic in Tehran.

“The animal has been under full-time health control by DOE’s veterinarians and her surgeon and the team has now decided it is time to let her return to the Nature,” Teymouri said.

Persian leopards are among the most threatened animals in the world, with Iran among their last remaining habitat. They are classified as “endangered” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Reduced prey population and shrinkage of their natural habitat are threatening the graceful, but imperiled, big cats.