Financial Tribune- As heavy snow blankets much of the country and wild animals are likely to move toward urban areas in search of food and water, the Department of Environment has called on the public to avoid hunting or hurting these animals, and report any case of injured wildlife to environmental authorities.

At the sight of a stray or injured animal, residents can inform DOE officials via the hotline 1540.

Mohammad Hossein Bazgir, the head of Tehran's DOE office, said these animals only approach human settlements to find food and do not pose a serious threat, Mehr News Agency reported.

"Birds, especially partridges, are very vulnerable in cold weather and some take advantage of the situation to catch and hunt them," he said, calling on people to report any such violation to help protect valuable species.

In addition to the hotline, DOE has announced the phone number 88824513 for the residents of Tehran to report any animal abuse.

Naqi Mirza-Karimi, commander of Tehran's Protection Unit of DOE, noted that on snowy days, wild animals in protected areas often stray alongside roads, therefore drivers should be careful and not crash into them, IRNA reported.

Residents are also advised not to feed wild animals in protected areas and cooperate with local DOE groups in distributing animal feed properly.

Mirza-Karimi assured that 100 park rangers are on standby and will patrol the protected areas with snowmobiles.

"Park wardens have supplied forage in Varjin Protected Area in the northern Shemiranat County," he said.

There are 24 park ranger stations across Tehran Province.

The massive snow that descended on many parts of the country during Jan. 27-28 has also caused trees to break or fall.

Bazgir called on the public to help shake the trees to reduce their snow burden.

Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi had earlier urged young people and schoolchildren in a Twitter message to help municipal staff shake off snow from trees lining the roads and in parks.