[Gallery] This paradise is called Iran

[The SiLent crY]

Cha'bahar ( Sistan Province ) :

 

[Indischer]

Chabahar development is going to accelerate this year, hopefully.

Nice pics mate. Hopefully, Chabahar will be developed by the end of next year. Any project that India is involved in will be inevitably late/delayed.

 

[Serpentine]

are there wild cats in Iran? there were in Anatolia too but in ancient past.

Yes, I posted pics above.

The Asiatic cheetah ("cheetah" from Hindi चीता cītā, derived from Sanskrit word chitraka meaning "speckled") (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is now also known as the Iranian cheetah, as the world's last few are known to survive mostly in Iran.
The Asiatic cheetah separated from its African relative between 32,000 and 67,000 years ago. Along with the Eurasian lynx and the Persian leopard, it is one of three remaining species of large cats in Iran today.


The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasicasyn.Panthera pardus saxicolor), also called the Caucasian leopard, is the largest leopard subspecies, and is native to northern Iran, eastern Turkey, the Caucasusmountains, southern Turkmenistan, and parts of western Afghanistan. It is endangered throughout its range with fewer than 871–1,290 mature individuals and a declining population trend.

• 550–850 live in Iran, which is the leopard stronghold in Southwest Asia;[3]
• about 200–300 survive in Afghanistan, where their status is poorly known;
• about 78–90 live in Turkmenistan.
• fewer than 10–13 survive in Armenia;
• fewer than 10–13 survive in Azerbaijan;
• fewer than 10 survive in the Russian North Caucasus;
• fewer than 5 survive in Turkey;
• fewer than 5 survive in Georgia;
• about 3–4 survive in Nagorno-Karabakh.

@Serpentine

Where exactly do they live ? I suppose cheetah would need large unpopulated plains to successfully continue its existence, unfortunately there isn't such a place in Turkey, Human settlements are everywhere and normally thats reduced the borders of wildlife and made it very hard for big cats to continue existence, in some of the densely populated areas of Istanbul today, Sultans were hunting deers :/ today biggests cats around are Lynx, Caracal and wild cats, they're in danger as well.

From wiki:

Leopards are widely distributed in Iran, but more abundant in the northern part than in the southern part of the country. They are present in 74 protected and non-protected areas, of which 69% are located in northern Iran. They are mainly found in the Alborz and the Zagros mountain ranges and throughout the northwestern region, which crosses these mountain chains. The Hyrcanian forests located in the north and along the Alborz mountain chain are considered as one of the most important habitats for leopards in the country. Their habitat comprises climates with temperatures ranging from −23 °C (−9 °F) to 49 °C (120 °F), but they are most often found in habitats with temperatures of 13 to 18 °C (55 to 64 °F), 0 to 20 days of ice cover per year and rainfall of more than 200 mm per year.

With more than 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi), the Central Alborz Protected Area is one of the largest reserves in the country where leopards roam. In the Sarigol National Park in northeastern Iran, four leopard families with two cubs each were identified during a survey carried out from 2005 to 2008. A male leopard was photographed in January 2008 spraying urine on a Berberis tree; he was photographed several times until mid-February in the same area.

In Bamu National Park located northeast of Shiraz in Fars Province, camera trapping carried out from autumn 2007 to spring 2008 revealed seven individuals in a sampling area of 321.12 km2 (123.99 sq mi).

 

[The SiLent crY]

4000 year old Waterfalls in Shoushtar ( Khuzestan Province ) :

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Targon]

A Persian Leopard wa shot in Diyarbakır in last year but I guess there wasn't a known population in Turkey, may be it was smuggled and escaped.

 

[The SiLent crY]

Some nice pictures from Mazandaran Province :

 

[Serpentine]

A Persian Leopard wa shot in Diyarbakır in last year but I guess there wasn't a known population in Turkey, may be it was smuggled and escaped.

Political borders are meaningless for animals.

 

[The SiLent crY]

Some nice pictures from Mazandaran Province ( People ) :

 

[Targon]

@Serpentine

Yeah but Diyarbakır is quite far from border, its lost its way I guess poor guy was nicknamed "Diyarbakırlı Leopar"(Leopar from Diyarbakır but -lı suffix is usually used for humans so it was a bit fun to hear for Turkish speakers )

 

[kouroshkourosh]

 

[kouroshkourosh]

 

[rahi2357]

Lost heaven ( beheshte gomshode ) located in fars province

 

[rahi2357]

Desert at night - astronomy camps

 

[rahi2357]

nights

 

[Ostad]

4000 year old Waterfalls in Shoushtar ( Khuzestan Province ) :

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

reminds me prince of persia.
beautiful pics.