they learn to detect the presence of the wolf in the Drôme

In the municipal hall of Divajeu in the Drôme, about thirty registered in the training of correspondents of the Loup-Lynx networks listen to the speaker. The trainees participate this Tuesday, March 9 until Wednesday. Sheep breeders on the Vercors plateau, elected officials, passionate about how predators work learn to recognize the clues left by wolves, such as hair, urine etc.

Thanks to the information that the correspondents send back to the French Office for Biodiversity, the latter can identify the predators and their population in our departments. For example in the Drôme the OFB has not yet detected any lynx. Yet in the audience some breeders evoke his presence in the department. To this, Gérald Goujon of the French Office for Biodiversity, regional coordinator of the Loup-Lynx network in Auvergne-Rhône Alpes responds “If the photo that was taken was not reported by correspondents, we cannot determine its presence. We rely only on facts and evidence.”

Correspondents are essential for monitoring the wolf

In the Drôme, wolf attacks are increasing. At the beginning of February, a pack was seen on the heights of Crest and a breeder lost 19 of his 37 ewes. Then Prefecture of Drôme and the Office of French Biodiversity wish to increase the number of correspondents able to deliver clues about the presence of the wolf.

The more of us there are, the more likely we are to detect their presence!

Gérald Goujon from the French Office for Biodiversity explains “our correspondents are able to collect information in the field and send it to us in a standardized way. The probability of detection of the wolf is very low. The more of us there are, the more likely we are to detect their presence! Without correspondents, we would have no data. Today, we know that at the national level, there are about six hundred wolves in the territory.”

Learn to spot signs of presence

This is the part of the training most awaited by the participants: learning to spot the signs of the presence of the wolf. It is often visual observations, such as predator tracks in the snow, they help detect packs. Feces and hair are other elements that can be transmitted to the OFB by correspondents.

Sheep farmers take part in the training

Among the future correspondents, there is Elisabeth Moreau, she is a breeder of sheep and goats at the GAEC BOS in Gigors-et-Lozeron. If she participates in the training it is because she has already made several observations in the Gervanne valley. That operator has fitted her protection dogs with GPS collars.

Thanks to this tool, she was able to trace the course of her dogs. And this is what Elisabeth noticed “We noticed that our dogs systematically turn around in the same place. In fact, they stop to urinate where the wolf also marks its territory. Thanks to the photo trap, we noticed the presence of wolves. Today I am looking for answers, how many are there? What interactions do they have with our guard dogs? We don’t have anything on the wolf at the moment. He watches us all the time but we never see him. “