Never mind the homework, here's the Vegan Teacher

Here’s something interesting you may not know about Iran, and an important ecological issue that relates to the disputed election. The Asiatic Cheetah is the only cat of it’s kind to exist outside of Africa. Though now extinct in India, a small number roam about the plains of Iran hunting gazelle and avoiding poachers. When I first learned about the Iranian Cheetah, it was estimated that there were about 200 left. Shockingly their numbers have been reduced to approximately 60 adults as a result of habitat fragmentation, loss of prey and poaching. Even worse, a solid protection program is yet to be put in place! From what I understand, species protection hasn’t exactly been a top priority since the Iranian Revolution. Perhaps this would be another good thing that could come out of a modernized government in Iran?

Anyways, a couple things about the cheetah that I think are neat. The first is that people used to actually tame them to hunt gazelle, and you can see some amazing footage from the ’30’s here. I wish my two jerk cats we as capable… The second (and I’m sure you’ve been asking yourself): how can you tell an African Cheetah from an Iranian Cheetah? By the tip of the tail! Cheetahs in the Savannah have a white tipped tail whereas their middle eastern cousins look like they’ve dipped their tails in ink!

Fascinating!

This concludes our Bio lesson for Monday.