Altitude
The altitude, which affects the habitat selection and distribution of wild animals was considered as an important and limiting factor for also our study area. It is seen that the species in the area are mostly within the forest border regions and are concentrated between 800 and 1500 meters. The between 1300-1399 meters has been the most preferred altitude limit with 788 records. This has followed by 1200-1299 meters with 735 records and 1100-1199 meters with 392 records. Both the total number of records and the number of observed species decreased as you descended below 800 meters and rose above 1,500 meters. However, considering the habitat characteristics of the jungel cat and eurasian otter, it was only detected between 700-900 meters. Both species were detected in Balıkdamı Wildlife Development Area, which is the most important protected area of the region (Figure 5).
Figure 5. The number of determined species depending on altitude.
51% of the detected species were observed 1913 times in total between 1100-1399 meters. This height layer is the best region in terms of both forest and stand richness. Another reason why this altitude range is more preferred by wild animals is that it is away from human pressure compared to low altitudes and it has better living conditions compared to high altitudes due to reasons such as winter conditions, food and water. The wild boar, which is the most dominant species in the area, was observed 197 times between 1200-1299 meters. The reason why this species shows an extreme elevation between 900-999 meters is due to the active agricultural activities at this altitude. The wild boars here avoid going up to high altitudes, as they have constant and fresh access to agricultural food. Increasing rural migration today poses the danger of wild boars heading to lower altitudes. If we rank the highest number of species depending on the altitude; Eoropean hare 187 times 1300-1399, red fox 166 times 1300-1399, grey wolf 165 times 1330-1399, golden jackal 73 times 900-999, red deer 37 times 1200-1299, beech marten 44 times 1100-1199, European badger 19 times 1200- 1299, brown bear 22 times 900-999, Eurasian otter 75 times 800-899, jungel cat 43 times 800-899, wild cat 10 times 900-999, Eurasian lynx 9 times between 1100-1199 meters were observated.
There are two different situations in the selection of habitat depending on the altitude in the study area. The first of these has seen in the jackal. According to Demirsoy (1996), the golden jackal is not normally found in places higher than 600 meters in Turkey. However, this species has been found at all altitudes from 100 meters to 1499 meters in the study area. Another extreme situation is that red deer can be seen between 100-600 meters. This elevation ranges are used as agricultural fields. The reason for this species to come to such low altitudes has been interpreted as escaping from harsh winter conditions and predatory gaze. Another finding related to altitude is that there is a connection between the hunter and the prey, just like in the stand type. For example, grey wolf is most common with wild boar and red deer (1200-1299), and Eurasian lynx is with European rabbit (1100-1399) at the same altitudes. Again, depending on the seasons, it was observed that the species in the study area preferred higher altitudes in summer and lower altitudes with relatively less snow cover in winter.