TEHRAN – A breeding site in the northern province of Mazandaran is host to 53 endangered Persian fallow deer, IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

A 55-hectare site in Sari city has been set up for breeding Persian fallow deer since 40 years ago.

Currently, 53 male and female yellow deer are kept in this center. 

So far, the center has sent over 400 Persian fallow deer to 10 endangered species maintenance sites.

The Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is a rare ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. 

Persian fallow deer are physically larger than fallow deer, and their antlers are bigger and less palmate. They are nearly extinct today, inhabiting only a small habitat in Khuzestan, southern Iran, two rather small protected areas in Mazandaran, an island in Lake Urmia, and in some parts of Iraq.

They were formerly found from Mesopotamia and Egypt to the Cyrenaica and Cyprus. Their preferred habitat is open woodland. 

The overall population of the Persian fallow deer lingered around 250 individuals in 2005 and registered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2015.

FB/MG