No abstract

The Striped Hyaena, Hyaena hyaena, extends its distribution in the north into Turkey, where it has always been rare. In a status assessment conducted by Kasparek et al. in 2004, it was shown that the species is at the brink of extinction. We compiled information from different sources including a press survey and camera trapping in different parts of the country. The situation has even deteriorated since then. The population has strongly decreased, in particular in the Marmara and Mediterranean regions, and presenty the species survives in Western Anatolia only in some small relict populations in Manisa, İzmir, Muğla and Bilecik provinces. The situation is different in southeastern Turkey including the province of Hatay. The species could survive there and regular reports in the press (e.g. road kills) indicate that the species is still widespread and not extremely rare there. Several animals were confirmed to live in a nature reserve established for the protection of Striped Hyaenas in the Hatay Province. Altogether, the present-day distribution range of the Striped Hyaena in Turkey is split into two parts: a highly threatened relict populations in the west and a larger, slightly less threatened population in the southeast. This means that the species has lost about half of its distribution area in Turkey during the last three or four decades. If serious protective precaution measures are not taken, the Striped Hyaena population in western Anatolia will be completely lost in the near future.

Camera trapping is one of the most effective methods for mammal inventories in most habitats and conditions. This study is based on the mammal records of a camera trap study in Northwest Anatolia. The study area was about 3500 km 2 , and the study was carried out between May 2014 and May 2015. A total of 62 sites were surveyed, resulting in 3653 records of 16 mammal species (Sciurus anomalus, Erinaceus concolor, Felis silvestris, Canis lupus, Canis aureus, Vulpes vulpes, Ursus arctos, Meles meles, Martes foina, Martes martes, Mustela nivalis, Lutra lutra, Sus scrofa, Capreolus capreolus, Lepus europaeus, Cervus elaphus) in 11,868 camera trapping days. The highest detection rate among the species was that of Sus scrofa (36.57%), followed by Martes spp. (20.35%) and Canis aureus (19.44%). Overall trap success for all species detected was 30.78% (recorded number/100 camera trapping days). It was detected that mammal species diversity was higher in natural forested lands than in human-affected areas. Species diversity in the study area was recorded to be significantly higher than the results of other studies from different parts of Turkey. We present here a detailed inventory, distribution data, and contemporary diversity data for the study area, and comparative data for further studies.

Gazella gazellawas discovered recently in a restricted area in the Hatay province, Southern Turkey, which constitutes the northern most point of the distribution of this species in the world. To determine the distribution of the population of mountain gazelles in the Hatay region, 17 camera-traps were set along 45 km, on a line from the south to north along the Syrian border. The traps were in the field for about five months from late May to mid-October in 2016. Field observations and conversations with local people, wildlife officers and researchers were performed to gain more information about the habits and distribution of the gazelles. Two isolated sub-populations were found: The northern one in the Kırıkhan region; about 520 gazelles in an area of about 100 km2, and separated by 18 km to the south, and some 20 gazelles in an area of about 25 km2in the Reyhanlı region. This southern sub-population was first discovered in this research. Fourteen species of mammals were recorded with photo-traps.Hemiechinus auritusis a new record for the Hatay region. The conservation efforts after the discovery of the northern mountain gazelle sub-population, assisted an increasing trend in its size, and resulted in finding the additional sub-population in the Reyhanlı region.

Acomys cilicicus is a narrow range, endemic spiny mouse species of Turkey. Some issues have been uncertain about its distribution and status. Therefore, in the study, we aimed to identify species' spatial distribution and understand the impact of environmental factors on species. We used maximum entropy modeling to fulfill these purposes. The results showed that the distribution of the species is restricted in the coastal part of the study area, the human population is one of the severe threats for the species distribution, and the fluctuations of climatic conditions may adversely affect the species distribution. We hope that these outputs can be valuable for the species' conservation efforts and guide the conservation of Acomys cilicicus and other narrowly distributed species.