A female Asiatic cheetah, an endangered species, gave birth to three cubs on Sunday in Iran.

Unfortunately, one of the babies has since died, Iran's official Irna news

agency reported on Wednesday

.

It was the first captive calving of this species in Iran, occurring by caesarean section in the Touran Wildlife Sanctuary, east of Tehran.

"The baby was weak from birth and had not gained weight for four days," the office of Ali Salajegheh, a vice president in charge of the environment, said in a statement.

🐆 |

As seen in 2014, the Asian cheetah is in danger of extinction, there are only about twenty of this species left in Iran.



But this week, great news arrived: 3 were born by caesarean from a female named "Iran".#IranFootballpic.twitter.com/oHcqDP8XgH

— 🇮🇷 Iranian Football 🇫🇷☮️ (@IranianFoot) May 3, 2022


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A critically endangered species

"A congenital malformation in the left lung is the cause of death," the statement said.

The other two little ones are doing well and have gained weight.

A campaign has been launched with the population to find names to give to the two new cheetahs.

According to the vice-president in charge of the environment, less than 20 Asian cheetahs have been spotted in Iran recently.

The cheetah is the fastest animal in the world, capable of reaching a speed of 120 km/h.

It is still found in parts of southern Africa but has virtually disappeared from North Africa and Asia.

The subspecies

Acinonyx jubatus venaticus

, or Asiatic cheetah, is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Iran, one of the last countries in the world where Asian cheetahs live in the wild, launched a United Nations-backed conservation program in 2001.

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