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The small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus (Hodgson 1836), formerly known as Herpestes javanicus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1818; see Veron et al. 2007 and Patou et al. 2009), is reported to be predator of sea turtles. In the Caribbean, H. auropunctatus predation on eggs and hatchlings has been documented on hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata; Small 1982; Nellis & Small 1983; Coblentz & Coblentz 1985; Kontos 1985, 1987, 1988; Leighton et al. 2008, 2009, 2010), leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea; unpubl. study, stated by Eckert & Eckert 1983; Nellis & Small 1983; McDonald-Dutton et al. 2000) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas; Seaman & Randall 1962). Sea turtle nesting in Turkey has been recorded since 1972 on beaches from Kuşadası to Samandağ (Fig. 1) and surveys of sea turtle nesting within the region have increased since 1988 (Hathaway 1972; Baran & Kasparek 1989; Türkozan & Kaska 2010; Ergene et al. 2016a). Mongoose predation on sea turtle eggs and hatchlings had never been reported from any of the nesting beaches of Turkey, until now.

Mongooses are opportunistic foragers (Nellis & Everard 1983) and a review by Leighton (2009) noted that mongooses are best classified as dietary generalists capable of taking advantage of whatever food is locally available, from rodents, arthropods and toads, to garbage and fallen fruit. Nellis & Everard (1983) reported that mongooses are a potential pest to agricultural crops. Mongooses are strictly diurnal and they hunt primarily by sight but they also have a good sense of smell (Hinton & Dunn 1967) and they dig for prey in sand or leaf litter with their clawed forepaws (Nellis & Everard 1983; Leighton 2005). Nellis & Small (1983) stated that mongooses were seen early in the morning on sea turtle nesting beaches, and even if the hatchling emergence occured at night, the late emergents and weak stragglers on their way to the sea in daylight would attract mongooses. Predation frequently occurs early in development (Stancyk et al. 1980) or close to when hatchlings emerge (Fowler 1979). Olfactory cues from emerging sea turtle hatchlings may attract predators (Carr & Hirth 1961) such as mongooses (Nellis & Small 1983) prior to emergence. Mongooses excavate turtle nests in a limited way and they consume pre-emergent hatchlings near the surface of the sand (Nellis & Small 1983). In the US Virgin Islands, mongooses have been observed attempting to excavate a green turtle nest (Seaman & Randall 1962) and digging at hawksbill sea turtle nests (Small 1982; Nellis & Small 1983). Nellis & Small (1983) stated that mongooses are persistent in their predatory activities when they discover a nest and they can burrow through the openings of mesh wire used to inhibit dog predation. Leighton et al. (2008) stated that the predation risk for hawksbill sea turtle nests closely reflected the edge response of small Indian mongooses, with predation being low for nests on the open beach and increasing sharply for nests located within vegetation in the Caribbean. Leighton et al. (2008) reported that mongoose predation affected nests laid from 3.4 m within vegetation to 1.5 m onto the open beach.

In Turkey, at Kazanlı Beach, the sea turtle population has been investigated by different research teams since 1988. We started monitoring and conservation studies on sea turtles in 2006 during the nesting season (Ergene et al. 2013). These studies continued for eight nesting seasons between 2009 and 2016 (Ergene et al. 2015; Ergene et al. 2016b; Uçar et al. 2018). Egyptian mongoose predation was not recorded on sea turtle nests, eggs or hatchlings in any of the nesting seasons at Kazanlı Beach until the 2013 nesting season. At Kazanlı Beach during the 1993 breeding season, however, 18 green turtle hatchlings were found dead in the K3 Sector; all had been decapitated. Although the mongoose was suspected, the actual predator was not identified. Local people claimed that mongoose existed in Kazanlı (S.H. Durmuş, pers. comm.), but no definite conclusion was ever made. This study reports on the evidence of H. ichneumon preying on the hatchlings of C. mydas in Turkey for the first time, and fills a gap that existed in the distribution range of this mongoose species.

Figure 1. The important nesting beaches for marine turtles in Turkey (modified from Türkozan & Kaska 2010). The bottom panel shows a general view of Kazanlı Beach with its sectors and the back structure (modified from Elmaz & Kalay 2006, not to scale).

Kazanlı Beach, designated as a Nature Site area, is one of the most important nesting sites for C. mydas in Turkey. A few C. caretta also nest in Mersin, along the southeast coast of Turkey (Türkozan & Kaska 2010; Fig. 1). Kazanlı Beach is approximately 12 km from the center of Mersin. At the most eastern end of the beach is the D-7 drainage channel (Çomak, 36.8073 °N, 34.7914 °E) and the Soda-Chrome Factory (36.8116° N, 34.7289 °E) is at the western end of the beach. The beach is a total of 6.1 km in length (Fig. 1). The suitable part of the beach for sea turtle nesting is 4.7 km long. In previous studies on sea turtle nesting (Coley & Smart 1992; Yerli & Demirayak 1996), Kazanlı Beach was divided into four different sectors (K1, K2, K3 and K4) according to its prominent physical features (Türkozan & Kaska 2010). We used the same sector divisions in the present study (Figs. 1-3). Field surveys were conducted from 26 May to 9 October, in the 2013 sea turtle nesting season at Kazanlı Beach.

Figure 2. In K1 Sector; a general view of the beach toward the D-7 drainage channel (Çomakçayı) in the east.

Figure 3. In K1 Sector; a general view of the beach toward Onur Site in the west.

Figure 4. In K1 Sector; a general view to the west of Onur Site where the mongoose attacked green turtle hatclings on the sand surface.

On the first day of hatchling emergence at Kazanlı Beach (22 July 2013), seven fresh dead green turtle hatchlings were found during the morning survey, approximately between 07:30-08:00 am. All of them had signs of predation, including bite marks (particularly on their heads), dismemberment and fatal wounds. However, it is possible that the predator consumed whole hatchlings, so the exact number of hatchlings predated was unknown. Additionally, the predator did not appear to have dug up the nest at all. Tracks from a small mammal were found next to the dead hatchlings. A small mammal was spotted about 50 m away from the dead hatchlings, going in the direction of Onur Site before it disappeared (Fig. 4). Although the vegetation was close to this nest, the animal did not run straight away into the vegetation. Instead, it ran diagonally toward the vegetation to the west of Onur Site as the possible escape route. In the following days, this small mammal was seen several more times after dawn in the area in front of the balcony of the research station at Onur Site. All observations were likely of the same animal. Afterward, we tried to photograph the animal on 02 August at 06:01 am, from the balcony. We also photographed this small mammal at a point behind the beach in the vegetation close to the escape point (Fig. 4). We were able to confirm that the animal that escaped the vegetation and the animal in the balcony photograph were the same and that it was in fact an Egyption mongoose, H. ichneumon (Fig. 5).

Figure 5. The Egyptian mongoose, H. ichneumon, photographed at Kazanlı Beach, Mersin. Date: 02 August 2013 at 06:01 am.

At Kazanlı Beach, all observed nests are protected with wire-mesh cages to prevent predation by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), which are the main nest predator. Because the predated nest had not previously been documented, it had not been protected by mesh wire during incubation. The nest had not been disturbed by this mongoose digging either during or after incubation. The location of the nest was recorded as 36.8101 °N, 34.7669 °E. The distance from the nest to the sea was 19.70 m and it was 1.4 m inward from the edge of the vegetation line. Four days after the dead hatchlings were found, we inventoried the nest. The nest contained one live hatchling, one dead hatchling, 82 empty shells (representing hatchlings presumed to have reached the sea) and 19 unhatched eggs (of which 12 were developed). The depth of the nest was 61 cm.

In Kazanlı, the food opportunities for this mongoose include various small animals (e.g., rats) and anthropogenic kitchen waste, which is sometimes discarded in the vegetation to the west of Onur Site by the residents. As a result, mongooses might have been attracted to the area by the discarded food or by the rats attracted to the food waste. Also, in Kazanlı, activities such as planting vegetables in greenhouses are constantly carried out, so these animals might have been attracted by the greenhouse crops. The mongoose attack on hatchlings in Kazanlı Beach has been observed only once during sea turtle monitoring research since 1988. We think that this mongoose does not yet associate sea turtles as a regular source of food. Therefore, we conclude that the mongoose is not currently a threat to sea turtles, and no action needs to be taken to control the mongoose.

Acknowledgements. All field observations of Kazanlı Beach under the project titled “The project on research, monitoring and conservation of marine turtles (Chelonia mydas and Caretta caretta) population in Kazanlı beach in Mersin-2013” conducted during the 2013 sea turtle nesting season was supported financially by Soda Industry Inc. For conservation, the wire cages and warning plates were provided by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, the 7th Regional Directorate, Section of Mersin.

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