Only two days after two rare Iranian cheetahs were killed in a road accident, another rare feline, a Persian Leopard, was struck and killed on Tuesday evening on the transit road in Golestan Forest.
This is the eighth leopard to be killed this year, and the species remains on the endangered list.
Forest rangers discovered the panther carcass, which had marks suggesting the impact from a moving vehicle.
The report indicates that the panther was still alive after the impact and was able to drag itself 300 metres away from the road.
The female leopard is estimated to have been three years old.
Environmental experts have often called for the closure of the Golestan Forest transit road, saying it is a serious hazard for wildlife. Cars traveling along the road have also caused an increase in the occurrence of forest fires in the region.
