Golestan National Park ( fa, پارک ملی گلستان), commonly known as the Golestan Jungle (), is an Iranian National Park in Golestan Province, northeastern

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 ...

Geography

The park is located in the eastern Alborz (Elburs) Mountains range and the western edge of the

Kopet Dag The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh ( tk, Köpetdag; fa, کپه‌داغ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast o ...

range. It comprises 91,890 ha. Elevations in the park range from above sea level.

Ecology

Golestan National Park has a variety of habitats, such as temperate broad leaf forests, grasslands, shrublands and rocky areas.UNESCO – World Heritage; Ref.5213
/ref> The diverse flora includes stands of white '' Eremurus kopetdaghensis'', '' Iris acutiloba subsp. lineolata'' and '' Iris kopetdagensis''. The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

is very rich and consists of

Persian leopard ''Panthera pardus tulliana'' is a leopard subspecies native to the Iranian Plateau and surrounding areas encompassing Turkey, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan. Since 2016, i ...

s (''Panthera pardus ciscaucasica''),

Indian wolves The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...

(''Canis lupus pallipes''),

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

(''Ursus arctos''),

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

(''Canis aureus''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

s (''Sus scrofa''), maral deer (''Cervus elaphus maral''),

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

(''Capreolus capreolus''),

urial The urial ( ; ''Ovis vignei''), also known as the arkars or shapo, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Characteristics Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the to ...

(''Ovis orientalis arkal''),

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatene ...

s (''Capra aegagrus'') and goitered gazelles (''Gazella subgutturosa'').Meigouni, H.G., Jahanshahi, M.; Kavoosi, K.; Kiabi B.H.: ''A Study on Herbivorous Habits of Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) In Golestand National Park''. Journal of Environmental Studies. March 2003; 28(30):55−64.

Extinct

Iran's last known

tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

had occurred in this area, before 1960.Geptner, V. G., Sludskij, A. A. (1972). ''Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza.'' Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N.; Hoffmann, R. S. (1992)
''Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol III: Carnivores (Feloidea).''
Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC).Humphreys, P., Kahrom, E. (1999)
Lion and Gazelle: The Mammals and Birds of Iran
Images Publishing, Avon.

References

External links

{{authority control National parks of Iran Alborz (mountain range) Biosphere reserves of Iran Geography of Golestan Province Tourist attractions in Golestan Province

Geography

Ecology

Extinct

See also

References

External links