Since the passage of the storm Alex, seven black wolves of Canada are wanted Tuesday, after the destruction of their enclosure of the animal park Alpha, in the valley of Vésubie, near Nice, indicated the French Office of biodiversity (OFB ).
Tuesday morning, two OFB agents and a firefighter veterinarian left by helicopter to try to find the animals, some of which were seen by witnesses "between Saint-Martin-Vésubie and Boréon", or close to the park where they were in captivity before the bad weather.
"The priority is to locate them and capture them with a hypodermic rifle," explained Eric Hansen, regional director of the OFB.
This area of Mercantour Natural Park has wolves in the wild, but Eric Hansen pointed out that animals escaped from Alpha Park "are used to being fed" and might not survive if they disperse in the area. nature.
They might also encounter native wolves, which are not of the same breed "which could produce hybridizations," according to Eric Hansen.
Two preserved enclosures
The Alpha wolf park, which had 13 wolves, was partially destroyed according to the prefecture and the OFB.
The enclosure that was closest to the water, that of the arctic white wolves, was completely washed away by the flood.
"A dead wolf has been spotted and probably the other two are dead too," lamented Eric Hansen.
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Besides the enclosure of the wolves of Canada which was opened by the flood and allowed their escape, another enclosure was preserved by the bad weather: that of three gray wolves of central Europe.
Tuesday, the director of the park was going to "go up in a helicopter to feed these three wolves", according to the OFB.
On Facebook, the Brigitte Bardot foundation proposed "to organize the reception of escaped wolves".
"Several establishments have expressed to us their wish to recover the wolves but we have no needs at the moment", answered Eric Hansen, explaining that once the wolves of Canada captured, they could join the enclosure again. intact of the park.
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