Iran mourns death of Pirouz, rare Asiatic Cheetah cub who became a symbol for anti-govt protesters

Colombo (News 1st) - Iranians are mourning the death of Pirouz, a 10-month-old Asiatic Cheetah cub, whose struggle to survive despite multiple challenges became a symbol of hope to anti-government protesters, foreign media reported.
Pirouz, whose name means Victory, became famous on social media. He died of kidney failure on Feb. 26.
He was part of a litter of four who were born by c-section in an Iranian wildlife refuge but were rejected by their mother. His three siblings died earlier, and there was much public anger at officials for not saving the cubs. But Pirouz was nurtured by environmental activist Alireza Shahrdari and footage of the way in which he cared for the cub went viral. Pirouz died in Shahrdari's arms.
Iran's Dept of Environment believes that only 12 Asiatic Cheetahs remain alive, all of them in Iran. The sub-species, which defers from the other three subspecies that inhabit Africa, once inhabited a region from Palestine to India. The subspecies died out in India in 1948, and India recently imported dozens of animals from the Southeast African subspecies to try to introduce cheetahs to India's wilderness.
Cheetahs are the fastest land mammal and have been clocked at 98 kmph.