Iranian Minister, Ranger Engage In Verbal Fistfight Over Persian Wild Ass

02/15/17

Source: Mehr News Agency

Iran's Minister of Industries, Mines, and Trade has lampooned environmentalist activists' concerns over the spoiling of the pristine habitats of Persian wild ass.

The drama had been on its climax when commander of Damavand Wildlife Patrolling Unit reacted to rather blunt and blatantly irresponsible remarks by the minister who had said that a few wild asses should not impede the way to exploring mines in a pristine habitat; the minister is Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, who faced with a challenging proposal by the commander which called the minister to attend classes held for grade school children to introduce them to rangers, 'An Hour with Wildlife Ranger.'



The open letter by the commander is anonymous and makes no reference to the name of the challenger; Bahram Gour is the home to Persian wild ass and the Department of Environment had been protecting the habitat. But for the ministry of trade, it is just a track of land rich in ores of copper and iron, the profits of which tantalize the minister as well as his trade empire.



The Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager), also called the Persian wild ass or Persian zebra, is a subspecies of onager (Asiatic wild ass) native to Iran. It is listed as Endangered, with no more than 600 individuals left in the wild.



"An area rich in copper and iron is protected by the Department of Environment and the office had not allowed explorative activities; this is just a track of desert with a few wild ass; we suggest that the area be given to the ministry and I promise that we will grow wild ass up to the point that they abound the wild," Nematzadeh was quoted as lampooning the concerns over the endangered species in blunt remarks which reveals the cabinet's trade-minded mentality and disregard for environment.



The wild assess as Nematzadeh claims are few live in Khartouran protected area in Semnan's extreme eastern part in Shahroud. A few of them also lives in Bahram Gour in east of Fars province.



The wild refuge of Bahram Gour is not the home for wild ass, but is habitat for other species of rare animals as caracal (wild cat), Pleske's ground jay, and bustard, which lends it an ecological value; the glimpse of these endangered species could beautifully caught in the region. The wildlife had once been home also to Asiatic cheetah, but the large cat was hapless to find coping with environmental pressures difficult and disappeared forever.



Bahram Gour, a patch of desert and mountain, is valuable in that it hosts endemic other species. In 1972, the area officially received protection and had been protected for all those years from dangers of technology and industrialists who had been seeking material gains and opposed measures to protect the environment.