Iran is trying to save the Asiatic cheetah, one of the critically endangered species of the world and bring it back from the verge of extinction.

The Asiatic cheetah is a cousin of the African cat and both are equally fast. It was found from the Red Sea to India earlier but its numbers dwindled over the past century so much so that it is now on the verge of extinction with only an estimated 50 to 70 of them remaining in Iran. The number is down from around 400 in the 1990s and this happened due to encroachment of its habitat, poaching and hunting of its main prey, the gazelles.

Cheetahs have been hit by cars and also killed in fights with sheep dogs since shepherds have permits to graze their animals in areas where the cheetahs live, said HosseinHarati who is the local head of the environmental department and park rangers at the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in north eastern Iran.

The Iranian government has stepped up its efforts to rescue the species with help from the UN and also have an eye for tourism to see the rare cat.

Rangers have been given night vision goggles and cameras have been set up around the cheetah habitats to watch out for any threat. They have also fitted cheetahs with UN-supplied GPS collars so that their movements can be tracked.

They have also trained the nearby communities to deal with cheetahs and promised compensation for livestock killed by the big cats to prevent shepherds or farmers from hunting them.

Also, any development projects to take place in cheetah habitats have to be approved by Iran's Environmental Department.