In the Haut Couserans valley, in Ariège, it's time to descend the mountain pastures.
It is abnormally mild at the beginning of the day in October and the mist has just risen in front of the majestic Pyrenees.
A strong sun illuminates the meadows on which hundreds of sheep are waiting for the signal to join the valley.
A journey of three days and sixty kilometers on departmental roads, through the villages.
The sound of a helicopter disturbs the tranquility of the place.
At the end of a long rope, he transports a wooden hut which comes from the summer pasture of Mont Rouch, at an altitude of 1600 meters, and places it on a meadow called
"the apple dish"
.
If the State estimates that it is necessary to reach 200 bears, including 150 in Ariège, to ensure the survival of the species, the profession of transhumant breeder is in danger of physical and economic death.
Gisèle Gouazé, president of the Mont Rouch pastoral group
This is located in the town of Salau, once famous for its tungsten mine, abandoned in the 1980s. In this delicate maneuver - the small house weighs some 850 kg - a technician on the ground equipped with an audio headset guides the pilot.
Breeders and their relatives help him.
“This is the maximum load…
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