Months and seasons
An important variable that affects the behavior and mobility of wild animals is the months and seasons. The highest number of wild animal observations in the region has made in autumn with 1200 observations and second in spring with 1007 observations. In summer and winter seasons, 748 and 775 determinations were made, respectively. According to the months, respectly 484 records were made in October, 393 in March, 365 in November and 351 in September. January was the month with the least number of registrations with 188 observations (Figure 6).
Figure 6. The number of determined species depending on the months.
A similar rate is observed in the incidence of all detected species depending on the seasons and months. On the other hand, an increase in grey wolf observations is observed only in July. The number of boars, which was 161 on average in autumn, has limited to an average of 41 individuals in winter, spring and summer. For the same periods, the incidence of red deer has decreased from 31 to 14. The decline in boar and red deer, especially during the summer months, may be associated with the separation of these species from the herd to give birth and care for young during this period. In addition, the increase in human activities and forestry practices in their habitats in this period reduces the incidence of the species. Almost all of the species in the region reduce their activities in order to use their limited nutrients in the best way and to spend less energy during the winter months. However, from the beginning of spring, the activities increase, and in autumn, the activities of the species reach the highest level for the purpose of winter nutrition. Seasonal variability also varies between carnivores and herbivores, depending on the prey-predator connection. This situation is more conspicuous among European hares and Eurasian lynxes. In parallel with the increase in European hare density in March, April, May and June, the frequency of Eurasian lynxes increased in the same period.
Seasons and months are also very important because of affecting the habitat characteristics of wild animals. For example, stands with water sources are preferred more in summer and winter periods. Similarly, it is striking that the height distribution of the species detected in the area also changes according to the season. While many species prefer lower altitude habitats during the winter months, they have been preferred more highter altitude in the spring, summer and autumn.
Many wild animals seasonally prefer high-altitude stands more in hot weather and less in cold weather. Although the seasonal and daily activities of wild animals change little with temperature increases in winter, significant decreases in activity occur with temperature increases in summer. During the winter, the activity of the species is minimal when temperatures are at their coldest, while an increase in activity is observed on warmer winter days. In summer, it is seen that the activity increases at low temperatures, and this activity decreases relatively with the increase in temperature..