Asiatic Cheetah's (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus Griffith, 1821) (Felidae: Carnivora) habitat suitability modeling in Iran

Critically endangered Asiatic Cheetah faces a dramatic decrease in its abundance and distribution in recent decades, entailing the necessity for more severe conservation activities for the species in its last remaining habitats in Iran. Proper management of the target species is highly dependent on knowledge about its distribution and habitat requirements. The Maximum Entropy modeling approach was applied to achieve the species habitat suitability models using data collected from 2001 to 2018. We found that the most contiguous patch predicted as a suitable one has been reported from the country's central parts, which constitute around one-third of the country's predicted suitable habitats. However, only 36.3% of these habitats were shown to be located inside the borders of the country's protected area network. Naybandan Wildlife Refuge and Touran Biosphere Reserve incorporate 9661.7 (12.6%) and 8291 (10.8%) km2 of suitable habitats, respectively where can be regarded as the most critical areas in the species conservation programs. Least Cost Path analysis suggested two corridors with 262.5 and 192.5 km length connecting northern and southern suitable patches. Designing new protected areas or local community conserved areas and extending current borders of the protected areas are necessary to connect northern and southern habitats and increase the species viability.