The presence of a wolf was observed in the Somme after a breeder reported the attack on several ewes stationed in a meadow in Lafresguimont-Saint-Martin, the prefecture said in a press release on Monday.
Following the report of this attack which took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, “the state services launched the usual investigation procedure relating to animal predation”, indicated the prefecture of the Somme.
A report was made on Saturday by agents from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) “who went to the site to see the injuries of the animals”, she added.
The expertise carried out by the OFB, – “more specifically by the wolf-lynx network present throughout the territory and which, on the basis of clues (droppings, attacks, photo traps, visual interactions etc.), follows the “evolution of the presence of the wolf in France” – made it possible to proceed “to a statement of technical elements which confirm the responsibility of a wolf”.
A “reinforced monitoring of animal presence indices” system was put in place on Monday.
“The observation of a wolf in the Somme is explained by its ability to move over large distances, from the heart of the population located in the French Alps”, explained the prefecture.
Solitary wolves have already been observed in recent years at a distance from the heart of the alpine population in the Somme, as well as in Oise, Indre, Eure-et-Loire, or Charente-Maritime, but without the we identify with a permanent presence.
In June, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) estimated the population of gray wolves in France at 580 adult animals, compared to 530 a year earlier.