TEHRAN – A 24-hour program for the protection of red deer is being implemented by rangers in the Hyrcanian forests of northern Mazandaran province concurrent with the beginning of the mating season of these animals.

Maral, the Iranian red deer, is one of the largest deer types that unfortunately their population has declined in the country. However, the red deer occur literally from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the high alpine meadows of the Alborz Mountains. 

The mating of red deer in the Hyrcanian forests begins in the second half of September each year and lasts for a month.

Mazandaran department of environment announced that rangers are trying to obtain the necessary information about the population, habitat, and distribution of this protected species in addition to confronting poachers who try to hunt them by imitating the sound of deer.

The red deer is a symbol of biodiversity in the Hyrcanian forests and a protected species in the northern forests.

According to the censuses, more than 600 red deer are inhabiting the forests of Mazandaran.

According to the Supreme Council of Environment, the fine for hunting each red deer is about 350 million rials (around $8000).

Mazandaran province is the habitat of 490 species of animals from different categories of vertebrates including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Some 26 species are supported by international environmental organizations.

FB/MG