“There is no doubt, it is a wolf”: two sheep attacked and killed in a village twenty kilometers from Montpellier

One of the two sheep as it was discovered on the morning of Friday, December 27. Midi Libre – DR

Two sheep were killed during the night of Thursday, December 26 to Friday, December 27. According to the French Office for Biodiversity and the DDTM, the presence of the wolf in Saint-Bauzille-de-Montmel, a village in the Grand Pic Saint-Loup, is “not ruled out”, the appropriate vocabulary to explain that this is more than just a suspicion.

“For us, there is no doubt, it is indeed a wolf.”Luis de Souza is the head of the forest, hunting and wolf department at the DDTM Hérault. A department that, along with the French Office for Biodiversity 34, is a reference in this area. They are the ones who carried out all the expert assessments, samples and other autopsies on the two sheep that were discovered dead in Saint-Bauzille-de-Montmel this Friday, December 27, in the early morning. Since mid-October, Stéphane Bacalum and Damien Coignet, the two breeders from Favas, have found seven dead sheep and lambs… The two partners agree with the departmental manager on this matter, these attacks are those of a wolf.

Stéphane and his son Loïc are dejected in front of the carcass of one of the sheep. In all, they have lost “at least seven” since mid-October. Midi Libre – T. J.

“Look at the state of the carcasses, they insist. And it's been going on for two months. These carcasses are eaten, and eaten well. A dog is wasteful. Here, it's torn apart, the wool is out. And even seeing the state of the enclosure, you can't tell whether it's a wild boar or a scavenger.”Three days after the incident, the bodies of the animals killed have not moved. On one, only the wool remains on one side and the skeleton on the other, since gnawed by wild boars. The second carcass, more sheltered, is less damaged. Except at the neck, where the animal was attacked. There is no more flesh. In addition to the predator, the OFB men went there to study the size of the fangs and the depth of the cuts.

Official vocabulary

Result: the presence of the wolf is “not ruled out”. Which gives the professionals the right to compensation. “Not ruled out”, a simple vocabulary concept for the head of the department, because one can rarely “determine it 100%”, but which confirms that it is more than just suspicions.

Too far apart, the patous Ludo and Loki were not enough. The shepherds are thinking of acquiring a third. And they are not the only ones. Midi Libre – T. J.

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In Saint-Bauzille in any case, the presence of the predator is doing its work. And getting people talking. Especially since Stéphane knows the subject well. Before arriving in Hérault, about fifteen years ago, he was a shepherd in Dordogne. He had no doubt that the wolf would arrive one day from the Pyrenees. The same here, since its presence was already proven in Hérault and the Cévennes. But Ludo and Loki, the two patous who have been with him since then, these dogs specialized in defending herds against predators, were unable to do anything against these attacks. With Damien, they have 450 animals spread across different herds scattered over 25 hectares. During the night from Thursday to Friday, the two patous were unable to intervene, the two sheep were killed at an unexpected location: a few steps from Damien's house. As a result, both of them are thinking of investing in a third patou to better protect themselves. This is also the advice that Stéphane gave to Philippe and Valérie. This couple, settled in an isolated house at the other end of Saint-Bauzille-de-Montmel in the middle of several dozen animals of all kinds, went up to the Cévennes this Sunday. They also want to invest in a patou to try to protect their domestic companions. They already have one: Pat (normal for a patou). But on December 16, his presence was not enough to calm all the animals.

“There was panic”

“The dogs had already been barking strangely for several days, the animals were running awayt, explain Philippe and Valérie. But then, there was panic.” Here, it was Pompon who paid the price. The donkey, although used to running in this rugged scrubland, suffered a cervical injury. He died three days later. “What happened?, the couple wondered. He ran ? He fell on his face ? And don't tell us it's a wild boar or a dog. Our animals aren't afraid of them, they're used to it. We've never seen anything like that here. The entire top fence was torn down. There is something that has completely freaked them out.”

Pompon the donkey, a collateral victim: “Something completely freaked him out.” Result: cervical injury. He died three days later. Midi Libre – DR

A wolf present then. But not visible. Or almost. Guy thinks he saw him on December 2, around 7:30 p.m. on the road, coming from Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers. For Olivier, there is no doubt. It was December 14. “I was on my bike, near Buzignargues. I arrived quietly, I surprised him. I stopped 50 m from him. He looked at me and left calmly with his characteristic gait, as if he were jumping on eggs.”

“We must be able to coexist”

In this village of the Grand Pic Saint-Loup, the presence of this predator is starting to cause debate. The subject is always sensitive between opponents, who are afraid of it, and supporters, who advocate animal protection and biodiversity.“It's a controversial subject,” confirms Françoise Matheron, the town's mayor. Its presence doesn't surprise me, we already have quite a few species here and it's already present in Hérault. It's unfortunate for the shepherds but it's part of animal life.” She tempers: “As the OFB wrote, I am not certain that it is a wolf. Whether it is a wolf, a wolf-dog or a dog, it is a source of stress but we must be able to coexist. Predators are more afraid of humans than anything else. If you have a goat or a sheep, it is not the time to leave it outside at night if a hungry animal is wandering around but you can continue to walk without any problem.”

Comments confirmed by the DDTM and Luis de Souza: “Apart from in children's stories or things that go back to the Middle Ages and cannot be verified, it is totally unthinkable, if not impossible, that a wolf would attack humans. It is a very fearful.”

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