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Video length: 2 min
Biodiversity: in Gironde, buffaloes to clean the Cousseau pond nature reserve
Heading to Gironde where, for several months, water buffalo have been grazing in the marshes of Lacanau. Their mission is to maintain the place.
(France 2)
Heading to Gironde where, for several months, water buffalo have been grazing in the marshes of Lacanau. Their mission is to maintain the place.
For three months, eight water buffalo have joined the Cousseau pond nature reserve (Gironde). “For the peace of mind of the fauna”the areas from which it is possible to see them are closed to the public, says François Sargos, the reserve’s curator. The cattle share 600 hectares of preserved nature, between forest, marshes and meadows.
Their role is to maintain the place instead of men and machines, and to prevent the forest from invading everything. “By grazing, they maintain the natural environment here, the open natural habitats. This is extremely important, because an open landscape, well maintained by herbivores, will allow the diversification of the flora.”adds the curator. New varieties are already coming back, such as the Drosera, a protected carnivorous plant. Thirty sea cows have also been cleaning the reserve for over thirty years.
