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30 years after its reintroduction, the ibex is still under surveillance, especially in the Vercors. Specialists regularly carry out captures in order to check the state of health of the animals. A delicate operation, which a team from France Télévisions was able to follow.
The great cliffs of the Vercors are the domain of the ibex. The king of verticals moves quickly, and over long distances. His hunt is difficult and once spotted, you have to be able to approach him, to put him to sleep with the help of a tranquilizer dart. “The goal is to put him to sleep, and above all to find accessible places for us and the animals, and above all not to [les] put in danger“, explains Philippe Cotte, environmental inspector at the French Office for Biodiversity.
A healthy species
For this mission, prudence, humidity and perseverance are necessary. Finally, the herd is within range. The shooter approaches under the direction of Éric Belleau, the veterinarian. The operation is delicate. The animal is only weakly asleep, as disturbing its rumination too much could lead to suffocation. After five years of captures, the scientific objective has been achieved, and around thirty representative individuals have been examined from all angles. Good news: the Vercors ibex is in perfect health. The species had disappeared from the massif before its reintroduction at the end of the 1980s.