Cheetah Cub’s Death Saddens And Angers Iranians
Iranians are sad and angry over the death of Pirouz, the last surviving Asiatic cheetah cub born in captivity in Iran that had become a symbol of hope for ongoing protests.
Iranians are sad and angry over the death of Pirouz, the last surviving Asiatic cheetah cub born in captivity in Iran that had become a symbol of hope for ongoing protests.
Pirouz, who died in the early hours of Tuesday due to kidney failure, became one of the icons of the current wave of protests against the regime after Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour mentioned his possible extinction in the revolution song ‘Baraye.’
Before its award for Best Song for Social Change at the Grammys 2023, Shervin’s song had become a viral sensation among millions of Iranians, who are protesting against the Islamic Republic for nearly six months now. The word ‘baraye,’ which means “for the sake of”, is repeated at the start of every line of the song, which is composed of a collection of tweets by Iranians bemoaning the situation in their country: “For dancing in the streets; for the fear of kissing; for Pirouz and its possible extinction”, and “for women, life, freedom”.
Doctors at Tehran’s Central Veterinary Hospital began dialysis procedures on Monday night but could not save the cub. “I apologize to the people on behalf of myself and all my colleagues because we couldn’t keep Pirouz alive,” said Amir Moradi, the head of the hospital, in a video message.
Pirouz’s two other siblings had died in May 2022. The second offspring of the Asiatic cheetah, called Iran, died apparently due to problems caused by poor quality milk just two weeks after the first cub from the litter died, purportedly due to “congenital malformation of the left lung”. Their deaths drew widespread criticism, prompting Iran’s Department of Environment to set up a fact-finding taskforce to assess any shortcomings and negligence in dealing with the reproduction process. No findings were announced by the taskforce.
The cubs were born in the Touran Wildlife Refuge by caesarean section on May 1, in what the department said was the first birth of an Asiatic cheetah in captivity. Iran is the last country in the world where the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah can be found in the wild, where authorities launched a United Nations-supported protection program in 2001. In January, deputy environment minister Hassan Akbari said only a dozen individuals were left in the wild -- down from an estimated 100 in 2010.
Social media has exploded with photos and artworks created for Pirouz. People are also re-sharing a video showing Pirouz’s last moments in hospital. Many people blame the authorities for a lack of care, but some believe that the negligence was intentional as Pirouz -- literally meaning Victor in Persian -- had become a symbol of triumph for the ongoing protests. Pro-regime hardliners had earlier called for changing the name of the cub to a religious one.
As hashtags about Pirouz have become trendy on social media, some people and activists used the opportunity to speak about the environmental conservationists jailed in the country since 2018, condemning the regime for imprisoning the most efficient and erudite scientists.
“Wasn’t it enough for you that you detained the best wildlife scientists whose goal was to protect the cheetahs in their habitat?” asked Majid Ghazanfari, a conservationist and former TV presenter that left the state broadcaster in support of the protests, slamming the authorities for their inefficient project for reproduction in captivity. There are reports in media that the Pirouz’s mother, Iran, is pregnant again.
Iranian sociologist Mohammad Fazeli tweeted that reactions to Pirouz’s death indicates that people have become more sensitive about environmental issues. Let's express similar sensitivity for the death of water bodies, soil erosion, destruction of the forests and extinction of Zagros oak trees, constructions in the northern forests, pasture erosion, and other destructive projects and anti-environmental economy, he said, adding, “Pirouz died, long live environmental awareness and sensitivity!”
Earlier in the month, Etemad daily reported that while the Islamic Republic has launched wide-scale propaganda regarding the conditional release of some political prisoners, there has been no amnesty for environmental activists. According to the report, there are still seven environmental activists behind bars while more than five years have passed since they were arrested. Nine environmentalists and ecologists were arrested in 2018 on charges of espionage. All were members of the Persian World Heritage Foundation, an NGO dedicated to conserving wildlife in Iran, and are serving sentences from four to 10 years. Kavous Seyed-Emami, the NGO’s founder, was found dead in his cell two weeks after his detention, with the authorities reporting suicide and the family denying the claim.
Earlier in the week, imprisoned civil and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, along with 20 of other female political prisoners, issued a statement calling for the release of the environmentalists. They said the case against them is bogus and countless human rights violations are evident in it.
Even before reaching that unprecedented level, the media in Tehran and social media users showed disillusionment, despair and anger about the rising rates and attributed it to the government's inefficiency.
Reformist daily Shargh in its Sunday edition that was prepared the previous day when the rate was just over 575,000 rials per dollar, also criticized the government's supporters such as hardline Kayhan newspaper for keeping silent, although it used to lash out at the Rouhani administration less than two years ago when the rial was much stronger.
Shargh quoted reformist cleric Mohammad Taqi Fazel Maybodi's comment on social media about the President's father-in-law Ahmad Alamolhoda who has attributed the currency’s fall to "foreigners' conspiracy," and told him "what would have you said if such an unprecedented rise [for the dollar] occurred under former President Rouhani?"
The government and its supporters blame everyone for the hike except their own policies, wrote Shargh. The daily also quoted conservative commentator Mohammad Mohajeri as having said that Raisi had better go to former officials such as foreign minister Zarif, IT Minister Jahromi, oil minister Zanganeh and Central Bank governor Hemmati and begged them to return to their offices to put an end to the chaotic situation in their areas of expertise.
While rumors in Tehran indicate that Raisi is about to make some changes in his cabinet and replace individuals such Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, the latter told the parliament on Saturday, "You cannot find officials better than us!" Statements like that certainly dash hopes for an improvement in the situation.
Iranian journalist Mohammad Aghazadeh wrote in a tweet on Saturday, "The unprecedented rise in the rate of exchange for the US dollar cannot have only economic reasons. There is a major development behind it. The current situation cannot and will not continue. This development may be engineered. Otherwise, either a spontaneous uprising by the masses or a war might determine the course of [upcoming] events."
Meanwhile, according to Rouydad24 news website, former lawmaker Mansoor Haqiqatpour has said that "radicals who have infiltrated the government do not allow real experts to tackle the problems. He added that the obstruction by radicals comes while the government is less capable than what the Iranian nation deserves.
Stressing that the Raisi administration is inefficient, the politician said, "Officials should solve the problems if they can. And if they cannot, they should say that honestly and allow others who have expertise to come forward and handle the job." He added: "This government started its work with the rate of exchange of 230,000 rials per dollar and a year and a half later, the dollar is way over 560,000 rials. This is a clear indication of the government's inefficiency."
According to Iranian academic Gholamreza Zarifian, respecting the people's trust is clearly not part of the government's priorities, and this comes while the public cannot tolerate any further crises.
Presumably referring to a recent statement by Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei, Zarifian said: "Decision makers insist that what is going on in Iran is an example of democracy, but critics are aware that the current reality is extremely far away from any likeness of democracy and a large part of Iranians are unhappy about the status quo. The people who cannot make ends meet blame government officials' naivety and inefficiency for the economic bottlenecks in their lives."