Iran’s Rare Cheetah Cub Dies of Kidney Failure

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, Iran's only Asiatic cheetah cub in captivity, Pirouz, looks on at the Pardisan Park in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA via AP)
In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, Iran's only Asiatic cheetah cub in captivity, Pirouz, looks on at the Pardisan Park in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA via AP)
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Iran’s Rare Cheetah Cub Dies of Kidney Failure

In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, Iran's only Asiatic cheetah cub in captivity, Pirouz, looks on at the Pardisan Park in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA via AP)
In this photo provided by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, Iran's only Asiatic cheetah cub in captivity, Pirouz, looks on at the Pardisan Park in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 21, 2022. (Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA via AP)

The last survivor of three critically endangered Asiatic cheetah cubs born in captivity in Iran died in hospital Tuesday from kidney failure, state media reported.

"Pirouz who was admitted to the Central Veterinary Hospital due to kidney failure last Thursday, died after undergoing dialysis," the official IRNA news agency said.

"The loss of Pirouz and ineffectiveness of all the efforts made by the treatment team in the past few days to save the animal saddens me and all my colleagues, and we apologize to everyone that we could not keep this animal alive," hospital director Omid Moradi told IRNA.

Pirouz, meaning "victorious" in Persian, had become a source of national pride since its birth in May last year at a wildlife refuge in northeastern Iran.

Two other cubs born with him died that same month, but Pirouz survived at a time when only a dozen members of the species are left in the wild.

The Asiatic cheetah -- Acinonyx jubatus venaticus -- is threatened with "dangerous ongoing decline" and is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

According to a 2017 study referenced by IUCN, the sub-species is confined only to Iran where there were "less than 50 mature individuals."

The world's fastest land animal, capable of reaching speeds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour, cheetahs once stalked habitats from the eastern reaches of India to the Atlantic coast of Senegal.

They are still found in parts of southern Africa but have practically disappeared from North Africa and Asia.

Iran began a United Nations-supported cheetah protection program in 2001.

In January 2022, deputy environment minister Hassan Akbari said Iran was home to only a dozen Asiatic cheetahs -- down from an estimated 100 in 2010.

Iran's environment department had hoped the birth of the cubs in captivity would help increase the cheetah population.



Crown Prince to Patronize 3rd Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit on November 10-12

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman,  (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, (SPA)
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Crown Prince to Patronize 3rd Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit on November 10-12

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman,  (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman, (SPA)

The Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment, is organizing the third edition of the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit (RGMBS) 2024, taking place in Riyadh from November 10 to 12.

The event is held under the patronage of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
The RGMBS aims to strengthen the national economy and promote sustainable development, aligning with the National Biotechnology Strategy launched by the Crown Prince this year.

According to SPA, this strategy envisions Saudi Arabia as a leading regional hub in biotechnology by 2030 and a global leader by 2040.
The summit will feature global experts and leading biotech companies from countries including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Republic of Korea, and Japan, as well as prominent academic institutions and organizations.
The previous summit resulted in 11 collaborative agreements with international entities in medical technology research and vaccine production. It hosted 68 speakers and attracted over 14,300 participants from 128 countries.