Russia asks Iran for its rare leopards

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has asked for Iran's help in reviving a rare population of Persian leopards that disappeared in Russia decades ago.

Caucasian or Persian leopards disappeared from the Caucasus Mountains around the resort of Sochi in southern Russia in the 1920s due to excessive hunting.

The call for help comes as Russia is seeking to restore the population of Persian leopards near the Black Sea resort, where 2014 Winter Olympic Games are slated to be held.

Putin received two wild male leopards as a gift from Turkmenistan last year, which were later released into the wild. However, obtaining female leopards, needed to restore the population, has proven to be a much harder task.

Russia has pinned high hopes on receiving several female leopards from Iran as part of efforts to save the endangered species in the area.

"We have made additional arrangements with our Iranian colleagues and are hoping to receive several specimens from there in order to complete this project in the North Caucasus," Putin told members of the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday.

"The search for females in both Turkmenistan and Iran continues," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. Persian leopards live in the border areas of the two countries.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123367§ionid=3510208.