Current status, distribution, and conservation of brown bear (Ursidae) and wild canids (gray wolf, golden jackal, and red fox; Canidae) in Turkey

Turkey has viable populations of many carnivore species of the Western Palearctic. Among those, ursids and canids are represented by brown bear (Ursus arctos) and 3 canid species, gray wolf (Canis lupus), golden jackal (Canis aureus), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes), respectively. Those species occur in major ecosystems of Turkey and experience a wide range of threats, and they are at the center of human-wildlife conflicts. However, due to a limited number of studies about their ecology and taxonomy, their current distributions, population sizes, and statuses are vague. In this study, we document the 4 species' known data in terms of distribution range, population biology, phylogeography, threats and conflicts with people, and National Red List status in Turkey by reviewing the recent literature and national news about carnivores, data collection in field surveys, and interviews with local people, personnel of the Ministry of Forestry, and hunters in more than 50 provinces. Additionally, we also provide information about rabies cases in consideration with carnivore conservation. We finally recommend further studies to fill information gaps for wildlife conservation and management based on scientific evidence.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Turkish Journal of Zoology

• Publication date

  2016-12-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3906/ZOO-1507-51
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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• Foreword

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• Mating Strategies

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• Introduction

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• Plate Section (PDF Only)

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• Frontispiece

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