Turan Protected Area

Turan Protected Area or Turan National Park (Persian: منطقه حفاظت شده خارتوران) is located in the east of Semnan province, 250 km southeast of Shahroud city. Turan region is a protected area and national park in terms of environmental divisions.

In 1972, this area became a wildlife refuge under the management of the department of the Environment, and in 1976, part of it was selected as a wildlife Refuge. In the same year, the area was registered as the biosphere reserve by UNESCO. Also, in 2002, the central parts of this complex were promoted to a national park.

Turan or Khar Turan Protected Area is one of the three protected areas and natural sights of Iran. It has an area of ​​1,470,640 hectares which is the second biosphere in the world after the Serengeti of Africa, Tanzania. Turan is the second-largest protected complex in Iran after the Naybandan Wildlife Refuge in Tabas. Also, Turan National Park, or Wildlife Refuge with an area of ​​1,000,000 hectares, is one of the 11 biosphere reserves in Iran.

This protected area used to have different vegetation, but it has been destroyed due to overgrazing by livestock. More than 800 hectares of dunes around the villages of Turan have lost their flora.

Turan is a large area surrounded by three mountains called Shotorkuh, "Qale Bala" and "Kuh-e Peyghambar". The Touran region, which shares a border with the central desert of Iran, has a diverse ecosystem of animals and insects.

The animal of this area includes the common fox, wolf, hyena, cheetah, jackal, caracal, leopard, wild cat, chinkara and urial. 

Also, among the birds of this region, we can mention bustard, podoces pleskei, partridge, quail, tawny eagle, and king owl.

There are 41 species of mammals, 167 species of birds, 42 species of reptiles, and 2 species of amphibians living in the Turan region, the most prominent of which are the Asian cheetah and the Persian onager.

It is worth mentioning that the Turan Protected Area also has a diverse range of reptiles. These include turtles, as well as the Agama family and salamanders. Monitor lizards can also be seen in this protected area.