Cricetulus migratorius (MNI) Pallas, 1773

Nedyalkov, Nedko, Online, Published & Version, Final, 2016, Distribution and current status of Cricetulus migratorius (Mammalia: Cricetidae) in Bulgaria, with comments on its status in the Balkans, Turkish Journal of Zoology 40 (6), pp. 925-932 : 929-930

4.2. Distribution of Cricetulus migratorius in Bulgaria, with comments on its status in the Balkans

I confirmed the presence of the Grey hamster only in south-eastern Bulgaria. In northern Bulgaria there was only one location, which has not been confirmed for more than 50 years ( Straka, 1962). Extensive materials (14,227 small mammals) from the diets of Barn owl, Little owl,

and Long-eared owl from this part of country have been checked, but the species was not found, suggesting that it probably went extinct there.

In Dobrogea (where the northern locality is found), there is intensive agriculture with all accompanying practices (deep ploughing, heavy use of rodenticides, and autumn burning of arable and abandoned fields), which negatively impacts the population of the Grey hamster and the other two hamster species, Mesocricetus newtoni and Cricetus cricetus , living in this part of Bulgaria (N. Nedyalkov, unpublished data).

In south-eastern Bulgaria the socioeconomic conditions are different; mainly there is less anthropogenic pressure. This is due to the depopulation of the region, which has been happening since the 1990s, mainly as a result of demographic tendencies such as migration of people to big cities, aging of population, etc. This region is amongst the least populated in Bulgaria (32–40 people/ km 2; data from 2013 for the Yambol region, http://www. nsi.bg/, National Statistical Institute). Locally, agriculture is carried out on small and fragmented arable patches, surrounded by abandoned fields.

There are no new data about the habitat preference of the Grey hamster in Bulgaria. Studies that utilised traps revealed that the species is caught predominantly in cereal fields, hedges, and orchards ( Peshev et al., 1960; Straka, 1962; Markov, 1964), with an unusual record from a forest clearing ( Markov, 1960). Multiple authors reported that the Grey hamster enters houses and grain storage facilities, including reports from Armenia, Turkey, and Iran ( Sosnikhina, 1950; Kryštufek and Vohralík, 2009 and references their). According to Sosnikhina (1950), the population of the Grey hamster in natural habitats in Armenia is very low, in contrast to human settlements where it was a dominant small mammal.

In Romania the species occurred in the eastern part on the border with Moldova ( Hamar, 1962); the most recent species distribution was summarised by Murariu (2000). There are no recent findings on the species (since 1973), but this is likely because of the lack of investigation in the region (G. Chisamera, personal communication).

In Greece the Grey hamster is reported from the Peloponnese peninsula ( Kahmann, 1964; Ondrias, 1966, Niethammer, 1974). Recently the species has been reported from two locations there (Hymettus and Avlona) ( Alivazatos et al., 2005), and from several localities from Thessaly ( Bontzorlos, 2009), all data coming from the diet of the Barn owl ( Tyto alba ). The Grey hamster was present in low numbers in the diet of Barn owl from Greece: 0.56% (from 29,061 prey items) from Thessaly ( Bontzorlos, 2009), 1.1% (from 152 prey items) from Hymettus, and 1.4% (from 94 prey items) from Avlona. According to Kryštufek et al. (2008), the Grey hamster is probably extinct from