TEHRAN (IFP) -- A leopard has been spotted several times in the barracks adjacent to Tehran’s Sorkheh Hesar National Park, east of the Iranian capital.
A media report said that given the long distance between the points of leopard sightings in short periods of time, the barracks could be hosting two leopards.
Iran’s Mizan News Agency has said authorities have started efforts to anesthetize and catch the leopard alive.
Persian leopards are rare animals and are on the UN’s endangered species.
Iran’s Alborz and Zagros mountain chains are home to the Persian leopard Meanwhile, smaller populations can be found in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Turkey, and the Russian North Caucasus. Occasionally, the leopard has been spotted in Pakistan and Uzbekistan as well.