Wolves under fire in the Alpes-Maritimes

The wolf polemic continues here in the Mercantour!!

For sure on the plus side it was great news that our local wolf park has accepted three male wolves to accompany (and procreate with, one hopes) the three young female wolves.   Two of the ladies - pictured above.

The down side - and surprising - given that the winter here has been so mild, is that there have been several wolf attacks in the area, very close to villages, over the past few weeks.

The first was in Venanson where six or so of a friend's young goats had been killed; the second in Roquebilliere where the wolves had the temerity to kill two dozen sheep, in the very close proximity of the house of our local mayor.

The third strike was further south near to Pelasque, topped off with a couple of deer carcasses being found in Saint Martin Vesubie.

This had lead to much uproar from local farmers - who are fortunately (?) re-imbursed for kill losses among their beasts, and the extremists who are now suggesting that wolf cubs should be sought out and killed in their lairs.

Articles below for french readers!!!

Wolf kills 
Wolf killed by hunter

Come to see for yourself - with us spacebetween - open doors now!!!!!

Photo - Alpha wolf park 

Wilder wildlife holidays in the South of France!

.

  
A new partnership between the Mercantour's Alpha Wolf Park in Le Boreon and the
Biological Reserve of the Monts d' Azur has just been forged. 

Alpha - as readers will know - houses wolves from Europe and most recently has taken delivery of three Canadian wolves (pictured above).   

The Monts d' Azur Reserve is just 30 minutes from Grasse, near to Thorenc.  

It is a huge reserve where guests can explore on foot or in a horse drawn carriage, and get up close and personal to European bison, Przewalski horses, deer, chamois and other species.  It's also possible to stay on site and enjoy various "packages" offered by the reserve.

In the first instance, visitors presenting a proof of purchase from one site will be able to gain a discount off their entry to the other site!!

A great day out for families.


Accommodation in the Mercantour - spacebetween in Berthemont les Bains


Image - courtesy of Alpha wolf park

WOLVES - and wildlife holidays in France

WHO is afraid of the big bad wolf????

From April 2014, for the new spring season, there are three new residents in Alpha, the wolf park near to Saint-Martin-Vésubie, in the Mercantour National Park, France.

Hoona, Healy and Galena arrived at Alpha last Tuesday - long legged, short eared and granite eyed they are a very different "kettle of fish" to the current incumbents of the wolf park.  They are easily distinguishable - Hoona, with fur black enough strike fear into the heart of anyone who enjoys the myth of the wolf, Galena with a small white "goatee" under her chin, and Healy with a white patch on her chest.

This handsome trio of Canadian wolves, brought in from Mulhouse in Eastern France are about a year old, and have been introduced as part of the continuous development of Alpha, according to Sophie Barberis, Deputy Director of the Alpha Park.  A facility such as this certainly has "teeth", being based on the perimeter of the Mercantour National Park in larch forest at about 1500m, where despite the current warm temperatures - there is still snow to mess around in.

Official opening this weekend - April 12th - and apparently if you say CANADA to reception on arrival - you may get a surprise!!

For more details 

Alpha Wolf Park - Le Boreon - Saint Martin Vesubie.  Facebook

Accommodation and holidays

spacebetween - self catering accommodation in Berthemont les Bains (25 minutes away), walking holidays and adventure holidays in the Mercantour, France.
Wolf watching holiday with late availability on April 22nd and May 15th. Facebook

Restos

Good eating near by at "O a la Bouche" - open all day but not in the evenings

Accommodation

Chalet accommodation in Le Boreon - L'Arberc
Chambre d'hote accommodation - Grand Chalet - in Valdeblore (20 minutes away)
Gite d'etape - Gite du Boreon in Le Boreon

Activities

Horse riding with Denis Longfellow from the middle of June to end September
Fishing - season just started, snow shoeing at altitude, fantastic walking and climbing!
 

Images courtesy of Alpha

Seen a wolf in France - what to do.....

Hey you have been very lucky - usually you can be sure of a wolf in the Alpha Wolf Park in Le Boreon, but you can see wild wolves as our friends have recently on the Col de Turini - alerted to the presence of their lupine "friends" by their patou dog - who only barks at wolves - never at dogs!!!

If you do have the chance to observe a wolf in the wild, take pictures if you can or at least photograph hair, scat, footprints or evidence of kills or their lairs.

Use the size reference of your hand to provide a guideline, and if you are equipped with a plastic bag do take samples with you for presentation to either the National Park office here in the Mercantour, or to the Ferus site.

We space-between once had a horse riding customer, who was sure he had seen wolves in the mid distance, when out doing the Transhumance, but said nothing because he thought it was a regular occurence!!

Please be vigilant and report any useful sightings to those who are lucky enough to earn a living working with these fabulous animals!!

The picture is of Christian Lorenzetti - local wolf enthusiast and friend who runs a lovely gite in Valdeblore,

Or you could also stay next to the Alpha wolf park at Denis the Horse's chalet and enjoy great food at O a la Bouche!!! 

Wolves in the wild in the Mercantour

Mollières – the only village in the central core of the Mercantour.  It remains a magic place accessible on foot by the Tinée valley – or from Millefonts via the Col de Barn or Col Ferier.   

The “authorised” – those who live in the village may take the 15km untarmaced road from Le Boreon in the summer months – in the winter it is strictly snow shoe or ski mountaineering access for the hardy.   

The village opted to be Italian in the 19^th century and regained its “Frenchness” after WWII, at the end of which the village was razed to the ground by the Germans.  Imagine then that the village isn’t Alpine pretty but its isolated location make it magic.  

 It is one of the areas in the Mercantour where wild wolves are most often seen, and if you are not lucky enough to see a wolf you are almost guaranteed to see deer and chamois.

The experience is heightened by a stay in the private refuge which is run by local piano and professional pianist Fred Chauvel – he and his wife Sarah are always delighted to share their passion for the village from their house here – the former presbytery.   

Don’t expect luxury – there’s no mains electric  but you can expect a hot shower and a home cooked delicious meal – followed by a glorious nights sleep….aided by a glass of genepy!!!

Descendants of the original house owners are gradually drifting back to the village to renovate their homes and to fish, nurture a veggie patch – plus if you go there - look out for a garden with a beautiful English style flower border which is alive with insects and even a hummingbird moth since once or twice.

To stay in the refuge you need to call Fred or Sarah – they will arrange to welcome you if you are say more than 6 people – the refuge sleeps about 16 in total. Contact spacebetween for more details.

Spacebetween walking holidays in the Mercantour – include a stay in Mollieres as part of their wolf holiday short breaks, or it can be an overnight stay on a horse trek.

The other side of the Mercantour

Thank heavens there seems to be more of a willingness to co-operate – between the French and Italian side of the “Mercantour” that is!!  The Mercantour spills over into the Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime ...which even on cross border maps has been a big “void” the other side of the border.  The PNAM was created in 1995, thanks to the merger of the Argentera Natural Park (1980) and the Riserva del Bosco dei Laghi di e Palanfré (1979 ).

It is a parc sans frontières for sure which shares many economic and cultural ties. Since 1984 there have been efforts to work together across the 35km border to jointly protect and develop the beautiful mass of over 100,000 hectares.  It is one of the largest National Parks in Italy with of course the same natural beauty and richness of flora and fauna that is found in the Mercantour, and climbing Argentera at just under 3300m is not to be sniffed at. 

The Park was given a slightly different flavour thanks to the hunting exploits of King Victor Emanuel II, with much of the terrain criss-crossed with mule tracks.  These mules carrying the “support” team of up to 200-300 trackers - the entourage of the King.  

In later times, the old paths of the Salt Route were bolstered with military installations as Italy sought to beef up its border prior to WWII.  The legacy of this is not pretty but interesting in military history terms. 
The frontier is easily reached from the French side via the Col de Fenestre and you can be rewarded for your exploits in reaching the “divide” by dropping down for a well deserved dip in thermal baths at Termi di Valdieri, or enjoy the wolf park at Entraque.

Spacebetween run short break holidays on horse and on foot across the border into Italy.

Website - http://www.parks.it/parco.alpi.marittime

Wildlife holidays in France...wolf watching in the Mercantour

The BBC have done the cause of the wolf a great deal of good in its recent excellent documentaries "Land of the Lost Wolves".

Anyone in the UK can still catch a look at the programmes via IPlayer - a service European mainlanders have yet to benefit from! Closer to home many people might not imagine that wolves could possible exist in our forests - aside perhaps from in Eastern Europe where their exotic myths link well to tales of Dracula in his lair, and Little Red Riding Hood!

However, the wolf is alive and well, thank you very much, in Western Europe, in France, and most certainly in Italy where the wolf has been less feared as a predator, thanks perhaps to the positive slant gained from Romulus and Remus and so forth. In the Mercantour National Park, there are allegedly 20 or so wolves that roam free. This, given that the park extends over 685km2 makes the sighting of a wolf a rare occurence, but they are kind enough to leave plenty of evidence of their presence in their wake, in the form or prints (very easy to spot in the snow), scat, dens, and kills.

Spacebetween do offer walking holidays in this beautiful National Park (which few people have still never even heard of - just an hour North of Nice!), which combined with a visit to the Alpha wolf park in the Vesubie valley is an excellent lupine experience. Unfortunately spacebetween do not have the funding nor the time to spend weeks crouching in the undergrowth.......as Gordon Buchanan must have enjoyed - lucky devil! The wolf here in the Alpes-Maritimes has had a particularly bad press, and was only seen again in the early 80s - in the area around which the Alpha park is now based. On the Italian side of the frontier in the sister National Park, the Alpi Marittime Park has also recently opened a wolf park - which spacebetween hope to be able to visit this spring. Wolf adventures are also offered further north in the Ecrins, which is sandwiched between the Mercantour and the Savoy to the North.

For more information about wolf orientated short breaks, or week long holidays - wolf watching holidays in France.

Image courtesy of Dave Willis - Mountain Sport Photography and Paramo.