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The Railway - a Site of Animal Tragedies

February 2001

Authors:

The Czech Academy of Sciences

Martin Jankovský

Univerzitná nemocnica Bratislava

We did the research of animal lethal collisions with the train on the railway from Trhový Štěpánov to Benešov u Prahy (length 33 km, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic, ca. 35-60 km southeast of Prague) in snow free period of winter 1999/2000. Altogether, we found 88 animal cadavers belonging to Lagomorpha (hare; 32 inds.), Artiodactyla (mostly roe deer; 22 inds.), Carnivora (mostly domestic cat and dog; 18 inds.), Aves (mostly common pheasant, pigeon, owl; 10 inds.), Insectivora (hedgehog, mole, shrew; 4 inds.) and grass snake (2 inds.). A typical place for hare and roe deer collision with train are fields (not forest as in case of pheasant and fox), while cats and also martens were found on the edge of villages. Frequently, cadavers are a welcome source of food for scavengers like feral pigs, foxes, birds of prey and owls.

A cadaver of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) found on the railway from Trhový Štěpánov to Benešov u Prahy (Central Bohemia, Czech Republic). Orig. M. Jankovský

Composition of cadavers found on the railway from Trhový Štěpánov to Benešov u Prahy (Central Bohemia, Czech Republic) in snow free period of winter 1999/2000. Lagomorpha (yellow), Artiodactyla (green), Carnivora (orange), Aves (dark blue), Insectivora (red), Serpentes (light blue). Orig. M. Čech, M. Jankovský

A species composition (n) of cadavers found on the railway from Trhový Štěpánov to Benešov u Prahy (Central Bohemia, Czech Republic) in snow free period of winter 1999/2000. From left: Erinaceus europaeus, Talpa europaea, Sorex araneus, Felis silvestris f. catus, Martes foina, Vulpes vulpes, Canis lupus f. familiaris, Lepus europaeus, Capreolus capreolus, Sus scrofa, Phasianus colchicus, Columbia livia f. domestica, Strix aluco, Natrix natrix. Orig. M. Čech, M. Jankovský

Figures - uploaded by Martin Čech

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Content uploaded by Martin Čech

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Čech M., Jankovský M. (2001). Železniční trať místem zvířecích

neštěstí [The Railway – A Site of Animal Tragedies]. Živa 1: 39-40

(ISSN 0044-481, Academia, Praha)

Abstract

We did the research of animal lethal collisions with the train on the local

railway from Trhový Štěpánov to Benešov u Prahy (length 33 km, Central

Bohemia, Czech Republic, ca. 35-60 km south-east of Prague) in snow free

period of winter 1999/2000. Altogether, we found 88 animal cadavers

belonging to Lagomorpha (hare; 32 inds.), Artiodactyla (mostly roe deer;

22 inds.), Carnivora (mostly domestic cat and dog; 18 inds.), Aves (mostly

common pheasant, pigeon, owl; 10 inds.), Insectivora (hedgehog, mole,

shrew; 4 inds.) and grass snake (2 inds.). A typical place for hare and roe

deer collision with train are fields (not forest as in case of pheasant and

fox), while cats and also martens were found on the edge of villages.

Frequently, cadavers are a welcome source of food for scavengers like

feral pigs, foxes, birds of prey and owls.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.

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