Parc Alpha is an educational establishment offering visitors a rare opportunity to observe wolves in their natural habitat. It is situated in the south of France, in the Alps-Maritimes region which was hit in October by Storm Alex, which devastated the area causing human deaths. The park was badly damaged allowing seven Canadian wolves and one Arctic wolf to escape. Two of the three Arctic wolves were killed by the storm, as I understand it.
Three of the wolves have been captured by rangers who put food out for them and then shot them with tranquilizer darts. Four are still in the wild and rangers fear that two have been killed by poachers. The remaining two, a female and an alpha male have been spotted but not yet captured. They have until Christmas Day to capture them before the government decides whether to kill them to protect livestock.
Animal lovers are obviously concerned about this and that they may be shot by locals notwithstanding the government’s attempts to protect them.
Bridget Bardot’s foundation has said on Facebook that they will arrange to transport the animals to the Coat Fur sanctuary in Brittany (Refuge des Loups de Coat-Fur – a sanctuary for wolves) if they can be captured. They’ve offered to help to capture them. There are reports that some of the animals have been seen on a road about 4 km from the village of Boréon.
#Innondations
Suite à la destruction du Parc Alpha Loups, la Fondation Brigitte Bardot propose d’organiser l'accueil des…Posted by Fondation Brigitte Bardot on Monday, October 5, 2020
There is a general trend, where appropriate and applicable, for wolves to be reintroduced into the wild. It has happened in America and there are plans for it to happen in the UK. Farmers tend to reject it because of fears about livestock predation. As I understand it, these fears are often unfounded provided the rewilding is managed properly. There was a recent story about wild boar travelling across the border between Denmark and Germany causing concern in Germany.
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