it would be a wolf

The animal hit by a car in Fontainebleau forest on Wednesday January 11 is said to be a gray wolf. Analyzes are still underway to clarify the type of “large canine”. If it is indeed a canis lupus as demonstrated by the morphological criteria, it is possible that a herd has flourished in the area or that the animal has been isolated. The case is not the first in Seine-et-Marne.

The animal hit by a car near the Liberation roundabout, on state road 607 which crosses part of the Fontainebleau forest, would obviously be a gray wolf, canis lupus from its scientific name.

The driver of the car, shocked, was rescued by other motorists who witnessed the impact.

Was a wolf hit by a motorist in Fontainebleau forest? pic.twitter.com/jhzuExvlwn

– BFM Paris Ile-de-France (@BFMParis) January 13, 2023

If the observation of the physical criteria leaves little room for doubt, it will still be necessary to confirm the type of animal from the results of the genetic analyzes currently underway and conducted by the OFB (French Biodiversity Office). Furthermore, for several years, there have been reports of wolves in the same area by the authorities, and more particularly by thewolf observatory.

Bruno Drevet, wolf hunting lieutenant in the Hautes-Alpes, an area where wolves have been reintroduced and now form several packs, points out: “The analyzes must allow for the precise identification of the type of animal. It is extremely difficult, for example, to distinguish between a gray wolf and a Czechoslovakian wolf.”

The latter is also classified as a domestic wolf dog, a breed originating from the cross between a German shepherd and a Carpathian wolf.

However, the numerous animal observers and experts all tend towards wolf tracks. How did this get to the forest of Fontainebleau? Was it an isolated animal? Was it a wolf that came out of a pack, as they do once they reach adulthood to create their own pack? If so, does the herd live in the particularly extensive forest of Fontainebleau with its 25,000 hectares?

The animal could also have come from afar. Wolves are intelligent, alert and discreet animals. They can travel up to thirty kilometers a day and settle a few thousand kilometers from their place of origin.

In a press release regarding the affected animal, the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne refers to a “large dog”. The descriptions of the animal by witnesses indicate the same observation, it is a wolf: long legs, short tail, clear facial mask, round ears…

The prefecture points out: “This type of fortuitous and isolated observation can occur in autumn-winter. It does not allow us to state that the wolf is permanently installed in Seine-et-Marne. The observations often refer to an important phase of the cycle of the species, in fact the cubs born the previous spring become fully part of the group and force other individuals to leave the herd in search of new territories, these individuals can travel several hundred kilometres, this explains some isolated sightings, anything but known areas of stable presence. The speed of movement and the discretion of the animal mean that the species can easily go unnoticed. In this phase we remind you that the wolf is a protected species and that no attacks have been reported in our department. ”

A captured wolf
between Meaux and Dammartin-en-Goële

Here and there, wolves are reported on French territory, such as on January 6 in Brittany, or on January 13 when another wolf was killed by a car in the Bouches-du-Rhône. In Seine-et-Marne, residents still tell the story of two wolves who raged between Meaux and Dammartin-en-Goële for six months, attacking sheep farms for food. It was 1972. The whole region was in turmoil. Ultimately, one of the two wolves was killed and buried without further protocol by the residents, and the other was captured by a sheep farmer, Daniel Maurice, the former mayor of Gesvres-le-Chaptre. Fox traps were still allowed at the time, and in March, after wreaking havoc and killing dozens of sheep over the winter, the wolf caught a paw in one of them. . Daniel Maurizio says: “He wasn’t injured but just stuck. We managed to free him and I kept him in a room on the farm and then gave him to a zoo who gave me two dwarf goats in exchange… The damage he can do is terrible do. In just one night, ten of my sheep were slaughtered and gutted. They also attacked the sheep in Marchémoret. It was, so to speak, their larder… When the wolves were out of harm’s way, everything returned to normal. When I caught him, I saw that he was a wolf and not a dog…”

The gray wolf population in France is estimated at 921 individuals at the end of winter 2021-2022.

german shepherd teeth

canis lupus teeth

On the D 607, in the forest of Fontainebleau

Last modified on Friday 01/20/2023

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