Khar Turan National Park
Encyclopedia
Khar Turan National Park is a National Park in Iran. It is situated in Semnan province
, southeast of Shahrud
. With a size of 1.4 million ha it is the second largest reserve in Iran
. Kahr Turan is home to one of the largest populations of the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah
. There are about 12-15 of these charismatic cats in the National Park area. Occasional reports of females with cubs indicate a breeding and perhaps growing population. In addition, Khar Turan has the largest population of Persian onager
and two species of gazelles, the goitered gazelle
and the Indian gazelle, both in good numbers. There are also wild sheep and wild goat
s in the reserve.
Semnan Province
Semnan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north of the country, and its center is Semnan. The province of Semnan covers an area of 96,816 square kilometers and stretches along the Alborz mountain range and borders to Dasht-e Kavir desert in its southern parts.Counties of...
, southeast of Shahrud
Shahrud
Shahrud is classified as a "short-necked lute." The word sehrud is of Persian origin, derived from the words sah-i rûd meaning "king of lutes/large lute." Though Al-Farabi included an illustration of the sehrud in his Kitâbü'l Musiki, it is very difficult to determine particulars from this drawing...
. With a size of 1.4 million ha it is the second largest reserve in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Kahr Turan is home to one of the largest populations of the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah
Asiatic Cheetah
The Asiatic Cheetah is now also known as the Iranian Cheetah, as the world's last few are known to survive mostly in Iran. Although recently presumed to be extinct in India, it is also known as the Indian Cheetah...
. There are about 12-15 of these charismatic cats in the National Park area. Occasional reports of females with cubs indicate a breeding and perhaps growing population. In addition, Khar Turan has the largest population of Persian onager
Onager
The Onager is a large member of the genus Equus of the family Equidae native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel and Tibet...
and two species of gazelles, the goitered gazelle
Goitered Gazelle
The Goitered, Black-tailed or Persian gazelle is a gazelle found in the north part of Azerbaijan, in a large area of central Asia, including part of Iran and southern west Pakistan in the western end of the range, as well as the Gobi desert...
and the Indian gazelle, both in good numbers. There are also wild sheep and wild goat
Wild Goat
The wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
s in the reserve.