Mountain goats released into the wild
Following reports that the local goat species known as bouquetin (or ibex) are dwindling in number, six of the hairy nimble creatures were released into the Hauts de Chartreuse Nature Reserve on Tuesday.
Five female bouquetin and one male were transported from the Belledonne region, tagged and fitted with a radio collar before being released to explore their new home. Fifteen goats in all have been released over the past week as part of a long-term conservation project.
This relocation project has generated much interest and the release of the goats was witnessed by a gathering of journalists, wildlife enthusiasts, park rangers and even the Secretary of State for Ecology, Chantal Jouanno. The proceedings were overseen by professionals from the Hauts de Chartreuse Nature Reserve and a vet.
Mountain goats have been roaming the Alps since time immemorial and there is evidence of their meat being eaten since prehistoric times. However, sport hunting and the increase of humans into their environment had a drastic effect on numbers and by the mid 19th century the population was so low that the Italian King Victor Emmanuel II created the Gran Paradiso National Park to protect the 150 animals that remained in the Italian Alps.
A programme of reintroduction was developed in the French Alps, to relocate breeding goats into areas where the animals were scarce. The first relocation happened in 1959 when five goats were brought from Switzerland to the Cerces massif. Throughout the 1970's, 80's and 90's more goats were introduced with parks such as the Ecrins National Park, Vanoise National Park and Mercantour National Park playing a large role in facilitating the movement and re-homing of the creatures.
Today almost all goats in the French Alps are in their current habitats due to relocation projects and have nothing to do with the original goats that were counted at the start of the 20th century. Numbers are now up to around 9000 and more are expected to be introduced into the Hauts de Chartreuse Nature Reserve over the next few years.
Source: Le Dauphiné Libéré
