抄録
Ikumi Beach in Tokyo Town, is known for a nesting site of loggerhead turtles in Kochi Prefecture. All nests have been relocated to a safety site to prevent eggs, from being hit by waves. Predation on turtle nests by wild animals was first reported in 2010, and predation occurs every year since then. Automatic cameras with an infrared sensor switch were used to identify the suspected animals of predation. Animals observed by the cameras around the beach were dogs, foxes, raccoon dogs, cats, masked palm civets, deer, hares and mice. Animals observed by the camera at the relocated nest were dogs, foxes, cats and crows. A video taken by the camera showed that foxes excavated the relocated nest and preyed on eggs, suggesting that the foxes are the suspicious animals of predation at this beach. In addition, another video showed that a crow excavated and picked an egg in its mouth. Because the crow appeared after the fox predation, the crow predation may be considered as a secondary effect of the foxes.
