Parishan Lake is a lake in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Parishan Lake is in

Jereh and Baladeh District Jereh and Baladeh District ( fa, بخش جره و بالاده) is a district (bakhsh) in Kazerun County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 35,524, in 9,967 families. The District has one city: Baladeh. The District has ...

in Fars Province and is the largest freshwater lake in the country. It receives only very small amount of water from feeder rivers and the whole lake or wetland is a protected area, as it is considered a globally significant wetland ecosystem.

The Protected Zone of Arzhan and Parishan

Another lake in this area is that of Arzhan.FARS Geography and History
/ref> The whole protected area is called "Arzhan National Park." This area is an important sanctuary for birds.

Project Lion

In the past, the

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a population of ''Panthera leo leo'' that today survives in the wild only in India. Since the turn of the 20th century, its range has been restricted to Gir National Park and the surrounding areas in the Indian state of Gujarat ...

used to occur in this place, besides other parts of Iran. Nowadays, in the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, the only members of this race of lions occur in and around

Gir Forest Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It is located north-east of Somnath, south-east of Junagadh and south-west of Amreli. ...

, in

Kathiawar Peninsula Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

, India. There was a plan to bring in Gir lions during 1977, but there were issues, and so it did not get fulfilled. This area includes the village of Arzhan, and is of agricultural importance, and bringing in lions would mean setting aside farmland, and settling farmers elsewhere. This happens to be a reason why it is difficult to reintroduce lions from Gir Forest to another place within India. Nevertheless, Iran's intention to restore its population of lions would continue into the 21st century, and in February 2019, Iran obtained a male named 'Kamran' from

Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend” biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider unders ...

in the United Kingdom, followed in June by a female named 'Eilda' from

Dublin Zoo Dublin Zoo ( ga, Zú Bhaile Átha Cliath), in Phoenix Park, Dublin, is a zoo in Ireland, and one of Dublin's most popular attractions. Established and designed in 1830 by Decimus Burton, it opened the following year. Today it focuses on conserv ...

in Ireland, and lodged them at

Tehran Zoological Garden The Tehran Zoological Garden ( fa, ), also known as "Eram Zoo" (), is located on the Tehran–Karaj Freeway in the Eram Amusement Park, Tehran province, Iran. Inaugurated in 1992, the zoo covers an area of and houses over 290 species. Histo ...

in a bid to reproduce and reintroduce lions in the wild.

References

{{Protected Areas of Iran Parishan Landforms of Fars Province Biosphere reserves of Iran

The Protected Zone of Arzhan and Parishan

Project Lion

See also

References