Scavenger activity in a peri-urban agricultural setting in the Highveld of South Africa
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Scavenger activity in a peri-urban agricultural setting in the Highveld of South Africa Craig A. Keyes 1
&
J. Myburgh 2 & D. Brits 3
Received: 29 April 2020 / Accepted: 27 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Scavenging animals often scatter skeletal remains of forensic interest and cause scavenging damage. This study aimed to identify scavenging animals in the peri-urban agricultural Highveld of South Africa, describe their scattering patterns, and the damage they cause to bone. Ten pig carcasses (Sus scrofa domesticus) (40–80 kg) were placed at the University of Pretoria’s Mierjie Le Roux Experimental Farm (Highveld) in summer and winter. Motion-activated cameras recorded the scavenging. Scavenger species were identified and their behaviors, scattering pattern, and the damage they cause to bone were described. Scavenging was primarily by black-backed jackals; however, mongooses (slender, yellow, and water mongoose), Cape porcupine, and honey badger were also active. Remains were commonly scattered in two directions by jackals. The distance of scattering was heavily influenced by fencing. The remains were scattered within a maximum radius of 73.7 m. The remains were scavenged and skeletonized faster in summer. Jackals caused minimal damage to bone, isolated to superficial, nonspecific scores, furrows, and punctures. A few mongoose bone alterations were present as jagged gnaw marks on the angle of the mandible and gnawing of the vertebral spinous process. Cape porcupine bone damage included gnaw marks on the condyle of a femur and head of humerus, and destruction of the proximal and distal ends of a tibia. The described scattering pattern and bone modification patterns will assist in the recovery and analysis of scavenged remains found in peri-urban agricultural areas in South Africa. Keywords Taphonomy . Scavenging . Black-backed jackal . Peri-urban . South Africa . Scattering
Introduction One of the purposes of a forensic death investigation is the estimation of a postmortem interval (PMI) [1]. A PMI estimation relies on accurate descriptions of a body’s level and rate of decomposition [2, 3]. Scavenging animals can alter the rate of decomposition, and their scattering of the remains can have an impact on the reconstruction of postmortem events. These
* Craig A. Keyes [email protected] 1
Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
2
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
3
Human Variation and Identification Research Unit, School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
events impact heavily on the PMI estimation [1]. It is therefore, critical that taphonomic studies describe the scavenging and scattering of remains by animals and their effects
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