“Young individuals leave their original pack to seek a new territory.” A wolf suspected of attacking sheep in Haute-Vienne

A lamb was killed and several injured Sunday evening in Saint-Léger-Magnazeix. The French Biodiversity Office is investigating whether the attack was carried out by a wolf, but the season seems favorable for their passage in the region.

The attack took place this Sunday, May 5 in the early morning in a meadow where sheep live. A few hours later, the breeder discovered the scene with amazement: “There was a sheep that was right in the corner, completely scared, bleeding. So, we looked far away in the field, we saw lambs lying there.”

Monday morning, the French Biodiversity Office went to the site to study the bites and footprints. This Tuesday, another attack was noted not far away: four sheep were killed and six injured.

For Phillipe Goursaud, head of the departmental service of the French Biodiversity Office of Haute-Vienne, the responsibility of a wolf is possible: “It is legitimate to consider that there is a correlation between these two attacks, thirty kilometers apart, knowing that a wolf, when it moves, travels between twenty and forty kilometers in a night.”

It is impossible to certify 100% that it was a wolf attack, but suspicion is therefore very strong.

It is logical to see individuals quite far from their place of birth, far from the Alps and population centers, who will pass, and potentially one day stop.

Jessica Hureaux, Large Predators project manager at the Millevaches PNR.

For Jessica Hureaux, Large Predators project manager at the Millevaches PNR, these more numerous attacks can be explained: “At the moment, we are in a period of dispersal for the wolf species. Young individuals leave their original pack to look for a new territory and potentially found a pack. We have two periods for dispersal, which is spring and autumn, we are in the middle of it, and it is logical to see individuals quite far from their place of birth, far from the Alps and the population centers, who will pass, and potentially one day die. Stop.”

According to the expert, the presence of wolves in Limousin could be more frequent in the future, due to the optimal living conditions for this species.