Wolves in Haute Savoie!
Many people including farmers, locals and mountaineers in the Haute Savoie region have long believed there are wolves in the mountains and now there is more evidence to suggest this is true.
A sheep farmer in the hills above Combloux near Sallanches has seen several of his herd killed. Investigations showed it was almost certainly a wolf rather than dogs who did the dead, as the corpse of the sheep had the distinct markings of ‘a professional'! Since then the farmer has refused to take his herd into the mountains. There has also been a recent incident in the Thorens Glieres area near Annecy, with cattle suspected of being killed by wolves.
So, should we as mountain users be worried? Experts believe there are probably only three or four surviving wolves in the whole of Haute Savoie. A female wolf is capable of having three or four wolf cubs per year, but the survival rate is low. In the 1970s the wolf had practically dissappeared from Haute Savoie, but it is believed the wolves have migrated from the Italian Alps.
In essence, there could very well be wolves in the mountains above ski resorts in the Chablais and Chamonix, but it would be a very rare sight indeed to see one.
Photo credit : Dauphine Libere
