Hassan Ebrahimi said to IRNA on Friday that three  Persian fallow deer were born in wildlife refuge in Arsanjan in southern Iran.

The Head of Kazerun County Department of Environment Jamal Khodaparast also confirmed on Friday that two Persian fallow deer were born in wildlife refuge in Kazerun in recent days.

The Persian fallow deer is a rare ruminant mammal. They are nearly extinct today, inhabiting only a small habitat in Khuzestan, southern Iran, two rather small protected areas in Mazandaran (northern Iran), an island in Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, and in some parts of Iraq.

They were formerly found from Mesopotamia and Egypt to the Cyrenaica and Cyprus. Their preferred habitat is open woodland.

Habitat destruction of tamarisk, oak, and pistachio woodlands, in which the deer are found, has contributed to their population decline. Around 10% of their former range still exists for habitation. The Persian fallow deer is a grazing herbivore, with grass comprising 60% of its diet along with leaves and nuts.

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