The hypothesis of the presence of a wolf, a protected species, in an area of the department of Seine-Maritime becomes clearer, and a monitoring unit will be set up to reconcile agricultural and environmental issues, announced on Saturday May 2 Seine-Maritime prefecture.
Read also: A wolf "most likely" photographed in Seine-Maritime, a first for a century
Since the very probable observation of a gray wolf on April 8 in Londinières (Seine-Maritime), southeast of Dieppe, " four attacks on sheep and a predation on deer have been reported in the municipalities of Fesques, Osmoy- Saint-Valery and Mesnil-Follemprise, "said the prefecture in a statement.
Agents from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) and the Departmental Directorate for Territories and the Sea (DDTM) went to the site to identify the cause of the animals' deaths and collect clues.
“ The redundancy of events over an area of 80 km², associated with the quality of the elements analyzed demonstrate acts of predation with comparable characteristics: a killing by a powerful bite in the throat and with systematic consumption of fleshy parts on one or more victims ", Indicates the prefecture. " The analysis of this set of information converges on the hypothesis of the presence of a wolf in the sector, " she believes.
" Obtaining good quality photos and genetic analyzes will be determining factors in characterizing the species with certainty and trying to determine its origin ", concludes the press release, recalling that the wolf is a species that is strictly protected in France like in Europe.
The discovery of the passage of a wolf in Seine-Maritime does not however lead the state authorities to consider the department as an " area of permanent presence " of the species. In fact, " the determination of an area of permanent presence involves genetic evidence of the presence of the animal for two consecutive years ," said the statement.
OFB agents have strengthened their surveillance in the relevant sector of the department. To organize consultation between the various actors (associations, hunters, farmers), a " wolf " watch unit must be quickly set up. In particular, it will have to define " the practical methods to be implemented to reconcile the various challenges ", both agricultural, hunting and ecological.
