Tag: France

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Should wolves in Europe have their conservation downgraded? Are they really stable enough to be hunted again

The European commision has proposed downgrading the protection of wolves from their current strictly protected, but it has been suggested that this is not based on any science.

A total of 9 countries (The call for a re-evaluation of the annexes of the EU Habitats Directive is included in a note put forward by Finland with the support of Austria, Czechia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden, ahead of the EU Agriculture Council meeting of 23 January).

The problem with this move, is that while in some countries like Romania, there is a large and healthy wolf population, in other countries like France it is a very different matter. If there is a change in their status, it needs to be assessed country by country, and the European Union must really require minimum levels, otherwise, this move is highly likely to lead to the extinction of the wolf across much of Europe once again.

While living alongside wolves is not always simple, it is essential to have predators to control populations of prey, such as deer. This is not something that is easily replaced by culling, and in the UK, the likely reduction in car collisions with deer would save far more than the cost of compensation for the occasional livestock that might be lost (of course, the wolf is not currently wild in the UK and the current government sees no reason to change this).

While complicated, the interest in the wolf is high, and it is highly likely that farmers would be able to supplement their farming income by money they could be paid through ecotourism and allowing people to try to see the wolves from their land. Wolves as with many other species are still slowly recovering from centuries of persecution, they are needed for our ecosystem to flourish, and can be good for everyone, with adjustments and compensation for loss of livestock.

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Golden Jackal found in France for the first time

Golden jackals are not native to France, probably as a result of of the presence of wolves. Unfortunately, wolf populations have dropped so low, that their presence is not stopping the spread of animals like this.

In this instance, the female was too young to have arrived on its own, suggesting that not only are golden jackals present, but they are breeding.

We will have to watch this space, and see what is happening. Will the recovering wolf population stop the spread, or are golden jackals going to become a permanent part of west Europe’s fauna?

To read more about golden jackals visit our golden jackal page here

Pygmy Sperm Whale

 The Pygmy sperm whale is one of just two species from the Superfamily Kogiidae, the other one being the Sperm whale. They are seen very rarely, with the majority of the knowledge about them, coming from carcasses that wash up on the beach. It was first described in 1834 based on a skull that washed up on the coast of france in 1784 (50 years earlier). While originally placed in the same genus as the sperm whale, it was moved to its own genus Kogia, as it is actually a species which is half way between the dolphins and the sperm whale.

They grow to around 3.5m, which is smaller than many dolphin species.

It has a far smaller brain than the sperm whale (even by comparison size) which my explain why it has such a lot more simple social life.

Pygmy sperm whales are found throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, though there are also seen regularly off Russia. Fossils in Japan, Italy South Africa have been found, suggesting that they were more widely spread. The problem is, that seen rarely at sea, and with most of what we know about coming from carcasses, we have little idea if dead and dying animals behave differently to healthy ones.

Seen rarely, I have been unable to find out how long they can hold their breath, though as the sperm whale can hold its breath for 90 minutes, so its likely that the pygmy sperm whale is also an impressive breath holder – this would explain why they are seen so rarely.

Lynx (Iberian)

Lynx (Iberian)

Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) lying down on a rock in Spain

Iberian Lynx: Once found throughout the Iberian Peninsular as well as much of France: The Iberian lynx population fell to just 94 cats in two populations (23 years ago). Through intensive work the population has returned to 1668 as of May in 2023. This is currently restricted to just the south and west of the Iberian peninsular, but is likely to slowly expand its range North and East.

It is fantastic to see the Iberian Lynx returning to places that it was found in the past, however, what is clear is that as the human race, our current understanding of science allows a great deal of power, and it is scary to think that the introduction of an illness to kill rabbits could come so close to exterminating all Iberian Lynx.

 

Lynx (eurasian)

Eurasian Lynx

Eurasian Lynx: found across Russia, down into central Asia, Eastern and Northern Europe: After reaching its minimum around the middle of the 20th century, it has recovered in different directions. While no where near its natural numbers in much of its range, it has expanded numbers in the north in Scandinavia, and the north-west Scandinavia. Reintroduction schemes have also reintroduced them to the Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland (and France) and Poland. There are currently thought to be around 50,000 left in the wild, however their distribution is highly varied from country to country, and there are many areas where they are locally extinct.

 

aaa Swedish lapland

Swedish Lapland, far north of sweden

Sweden’s Lapland is a beautiful area. Lying in the far north of Sweden, like much of Sweden the land is heavily forested. Wolves are rare in Sweden, though this is as a result of over hunting – Europe has said that Sweden needs 170-270 wolves for a healthy population. Sweden is a huge country, which could support far more if they were allowed to naturally control their numbers. Being a country about the size of France, but with far fewer people, stating the country can only support 170 wolves is ridiculous. Bear numbers are higher, and there are thought to be around 2000 wolverines within its border (this was a population I was quoted if we visited).

It should be noted, that, the only difference between here and further south, is the number of wolverines – we did not get this far north, and where we were wolverines are just occasional visitors. The one difference is the reindeer presence. There are around 260,000 reindeer in Sweden, though it should be noted that these are only semi wild.

Sweden’s bear population is going up at the moment, and is currently thought to be around 2800. Generally, it takes some local knowledge to see wild bears, and your best chance is in a bear hide. We have one listed in the hides section of of this website. One of the big advantages of doing this in the northern parts of Sweden is the sunlight lasts more of the night. As bears are largely nocturnal, this allows more time to watch. When I visited the bear hide, it got to dark to see at about 2am but got light enough again at 5am.

Below is a video of the area. As you can see, while there is some wildlife, there is not a great deal. Generally you need a guide to take you out as finding the wildlife is a difficult job. We hope to be adding plenty of links below.

aaa The black forest, Germany

The black forest, Germany

This is a large forested mountain range in southwest Germany boarded by the Rhine valley to the west and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. Both the source of the Danube and Nekar river is in this mountain range. With a length of around 100 miles at an area of over 2,300 square miles it is a significant patch of wilderness.


With wolves just returning to the country, their migration into the black forest is only just beginning. Indeed, while in recent years it was known that there were a couple of lone males in the reserve, a lone female has recently been seen – suggesting that it is highly likely young wolf cubs will arrive in the next few years. Other than the wolves there are boar, lynx, otters, foxes, red and roe deer and a variety of other animals.

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France has decreed that every carpark with more than 80 car spaces must have a solar canopy

Across France this is around 11gigawatts, or over the year almost 10 terawatt hours of electricity generation per year. This is a very sensible idea, as it is a second use of the land.

Might this become a common site in the UK as well as France (where it is required on all new car parks over 80 spaces)

In the south of England, there are now 2000 panels placed over car parking spaces. These offer a capacity of almost 1MW hour. Each parking space covered, has a capacity of about 2kw. In the UK, the countries target of solar by 2030 is to have 40gw of solar capacity, up from 15gw currently. It is estimated, that almost half the remaining target would be met by carpark roofing – which suggests that we could hit far more than 40gw of solar.

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Wolves continue their spread in France, now department of Lot

The most recent estimate, puts the French wolf population on about 620 in the country. They have recently moved into the department of Lot which lies just a few miles north of Toulouse.

wolves are now spreading in France, and without a huge effort the animal is back to stay. This is the first photo of a wild wolf in northern France since 1913

Given the growing population of wolves in France, it would be ridiculous to kill these wolves, as others will replace them pretty quickly.

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Wolf encounter in France (not mine unfortunately)

I have had an encounter with a wolf – perhaps 100m distant, and no reaction to my presence. I have also watched a wolf from the safety of a bear hide. I have even listened to the eery sound of a wolf howl, both within an English zoo (late at night) and more excitingly from all around when trying to see wolves on the edge of the Sierra de Culebra in Spain. Annoyingly, although our guides howl was answered from 4 different locations, on that occasion the wolf did not allow us to see them at all.

In France, with a wolf population (as of 2021) of about 580, unless you know what you are doing, or are incredibly lucky you are unlikely to encounter a wolf. Indeed even wildlife guides working in nature reserves do not normally see wolves every day. Here I will recount an encounter someone had in France.

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