The Chalybeate

Wednesday 23 April 2008

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Where are all the wild animals in France?
During our recent trip there, we didn't see a single wild mammal, either from the trains in which we travelled, or when out walking. Admittedly we did see plenty of droppings and trqaces of various sorts, which ranged from boar scrapings to badger tracks to genet and fouine spraints. But we didn't actually see one mammal.

Contrast that with the train journeys which we took to and from Southampton Airport for our flight. The travel time and speeds were roughly comparable with the train travelling times in France, but we saw so much more wildlife. On the way out, we spotted at least three small groups of deer, a fox, and many rabbits. On the return leg, which was mainly in the dark, we saw two lots of deer in the twilight, plus the ubiquitous rabbits.

So where are all the French animals? The human population density there is lower than in England, so it's not competition. Do the French shoot everything they can? Do they hunt even the smallest mammals?

:o[

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