Scavenger Vertebrates of Dörtdivan Vulture Restaurant, Turkey

Abstract

Fairly recently scavenging was thought to be restricted to a few groups of 'classic' and sometimesfacultative scavengers and vultures, but what most of the more recent researches has shown isthat a much wider range of groups and species are scavenger. There is a need to investigate thisdiversity and interactions with different communities of avian and mammalian scavengers inTurkey. The diversity of scavenger vertebrate species, their behaviour, and interactions betweenindividuals are investigated. This study was conducted in Dörtdivan Vulture Restaurant, Bolu,Turkey. Twenty five species are recorded (eighteen birds and seven mammal) while feeding onthe carcasses. The diversity of vertebrates feeding on the carcass is varied according to the carcasstype. Opportunistic non-obligatory scavengers are more dominant than obligatory scavengers inthis study. The intraspecific and interspecific competitions are detected between scavengers. Thisis the first assessment of scavenger vertebrates in Turkey. It could be the useful reference for newassessments in the future.