Bal\u0131k bayku\u015flar\u0131 40-50 y\u0131l \u00f6ncesine kadar Ortado\u011fu\u2019da (\u0130srail, Irak, \u00dcrd\u00fcn, L\u00fcbnan) ya\u015f\u0131yordu. Ancak g\u00fcn\u00fcm\u00fczde o b\u00f6lgede soylar\u0131n\u0131n t\u00fckendi\u011fi kabul ediliyor. Ancak Asya\u2019n\u0131n g\u00fcneyinde Hindistan, Sri Lanka ve Pakistan\u2019da ya\u015famlar\u0131n\u0131 s\u00fcrd\u00fcr\u00fcyorlar. Bal\u0131k bayku\u015funun \u00fclkemizdeki ilk kay\u0131tlar\u0131 1800\u2019l\u00fc y\u0131llar\u0131n sonunda verilmi\u015f. Sonra 1991 y\u0131l\u0131nda Adana\u2019da tesad\u00fcfen bal\u0131k oltas\u0131na yakaland\u0131, oltadan kurtar\u0131larak sal\u0131verildi.<\/p>\n
Daha sonra 2004\u2019te Antalya\u2019da Osman Y\u00f6ntem, 2009\u2019da Soner Bekir ve Murat \u00c7uhadaro\u011flu taraf\u0131ndan foto\u011fraflanarak ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 belgelendi. 2010 y\u0131l\u0131nda Do\u011fa Derne\u011fi bal\u0131k bayku\u015funun pop\u00fclasyonunun belirlenmesi i\u00e7in Akdeniz b\u00f6lgesinde geni\u015f bir alanda \u00e7al\u0131\u015fma yaparak \u00fc\u00e7 birey belirledi. Son durum bu \u015fekilde, ancak tahminler daha fazla bal\u0131k bayku\u015funun ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 y\u00f6n\u00fcnde.<\/p>\n
Bal\u0131k bayku\u015flar\u0131 genel olarak k\u0131z\u0131l\u0131ms\u0131 kahverengi ile sar\u0131ms\u0131 kahverengi aras\u0131nda de\u011fi\u015fen renklerde olur. S\u0131rt k\u0131s\u0131mlar\u0131nda siyah, koyu kahverengi kesikli \u00e7izgiler vard\u0131r. Kar\u0131n k\u0131s\u0131mlar\u0131ysa sar\u0131ms\u0131 beyazd\u0131r, s\u0131rt k\u0131sm\u0131ndaki gibi ancak orada oldu\u011fundan \u00e7ok daha ince, koyu renkli \u00e7izgiler bulunur. G\u00f6zleri belirgin bi\u00e7imde parlak sar\u0131d\u0131r. Boylar\u0131 55 cm kadar, kanat a\u00e7\u0131kl\u0131\u011f\u0131 da 150 cm kadar olabilen bir bayku\u015f t\u00fcr\u00fcd\u00fcr.<\/p>\n
Kafa k\u0131sm\u0131 d\u00fcz, kulaklar\u0131 b\u00fcy\u00fckt\u00fcr. Al\u00e7ak alanlardaki, a\u011fa\u00e7 s\u0131n\u0131r\u0131ndaki nehir ve g\u00f6l k\u0131y\u0131lar\u0131nda ya\u015farlar. Kayal\u0131klardaki oyuklarda, kurumu\u015f a\u011fa\u00e7larda ya da y\u0131rt\u0131c\u0131 ku\u015flar\u0131n eski yuvalar\u0131nda bulunurlar. Genelde geceleri aktiftirler, bulutlu havalarda g\u00fcnd\u00fcz de u\u00e7abilirler. Tatl\u0131su yenge\u00e7leri, bal\u0131klar, kurba\u011falar, kemiriciler, s\u00fcr\u00fcngenler ba\u015fl\u0131ca besinlerini olu\u015fturur.<\/p>\n
Bal\u0131k bayku\u015flar\u0131n\u0131n \u00fclkemizde ya\u015famlar\u0131n\u0131 nas\u0131l devam ettirdikleri hakk\u0131nda kesin bilgi yok. Ancak say\u0131lar\u0131n\u0131n azl\u0131\u011f\u0131, ya\u015fad\u0131klar\u0131 yerlerin insan ve turizm bask\u0131s\u0131 alt\u0131nda olmas\u0131, akarsular\u0131n kirlenmesi gibi etkenler ya\u015fam ko\u015fullar\u0131n\u0131n bozuldu\u011funun g\u00f6stergesi.<\/p>\n