• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.50-54
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate the status of carcasses of wild birds among natural monuments in Korea. In Korea, from 2016 to 2020, a total of 38 species and 5,036 individual carcasses of natural monuments were found. The year 2020 saw the highest numbers of species death with 34 and in 2019 the highest number was recorded with 1,095 individuals. In autumn, the largest number of species and the smallest number of individuals were confirmed dead. On the contrary, the smallest number of species and the highest number of individuals were confirmed dead in summer. The largest number of species died in November, and the largest number of individuals died in June. Kestrels accounted for about 20% of the total carcasses, making up the largest number, followed by eagle owls, brown hawk-owls, scops owls, goshawk, eagles and sparrow hawks. In spring and summer, domestic breeding species accounted for most of the carcasses and in winter, the proportion of overwintering individuals such as wooper swans and eagles increased. Reports of lost natural monuments are done by human and the status of the carcasses alone cannot inform the population characteristics of natural monuments when they stay in Korea. However, it is expected that the identified domestic population of strigiformes which has not been investigated in detail because they are nocturnal, and data on the status of carcasses of natural monuments in Korea will provide basic data for the protection of natural monuments.