It’s neither a feline nor a weasel. It is a beautiful animal, which can be found everywhere on the Côte d’Azur. Behind closed doors. “He’s here, he lives in the same place as us, but no one knows, no one cares, summarizes Rémy Masséglia, photographer. It’s great to say that it’s still possible.”.
At the end of May, UPA06 filmed a genet, completely by chance, in Saint-André-de-la-Roche, a town bordering Nice.
They are looking for a white poodle
For almost a month, this animal rights association has been looking for a dog that escaped in the area: Nana, a white-haired toy poodle. The volunteers had installed a photo trap, which films as soon as it detects passage, in an area where the dog’s collar had been found. They had also left food behind.
Imported from Africa 2,000 years ago
When she got the device back, the volunteer (who wishes to remain anonymous) was surprised. “We really thought the dog had been filmed. We didn’t expect to see a genet, especially so close to town.” Since then, the association has abandoned this sector, but continues to look for Nana.
The genet is a nocturnal, carnivorous animal, extremely discreet, which roams the thickets. Its history is relatively poorly documented: we know that this animal comes from Africa and was imported to Spain 2,000 years ago, to be domesticated.
Since then, man has preferred the cat. And the genet colonized France from the West and the Franco-Italian border is its easternmost territory. It is a protected species.
The photographer and documentarian Rémy Masséglia, based in the Roya valley, managed to take several photos.
“Very stealthy”
“It’s not surprising to find it there, it’s an animal that quite likes cohabitation with humans, but 100% nocturnal, reports the wildlife enthusiast. They are found almost everywhere, up to 1,600 meters above sea level. It does not go unnoticed aesthetically, but very stealthy in its behavior. You can never meet his eyes.”
“With the cameras, we are better aware of its presence,” he continues. Before, it was almost impossible. It’s one of the animals that is hardly studied. This is one of the species that I target for my photos: they stimulate the imagination and they are not the subject of studies in our country.”
