Illustration of a gray wolf. - Henry AUSLOOS / SIPA

The first alert was given on 8 April in Londinières (Seine-Maritime), south-east of Dieppe: a gray wolf, a protected species, was reportedly observed there. Since then, "four attacks on sheep and a predation on deer have been reported in the municipalities of Fesques, Osmoy-saint-Valery and Mesnil-Follemprise," the prefecture said in a statement. What justify the establishment of a monitoring unit to reconcile agricultural and environmental issues.

Agents from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) and the Departmental Directorate for Territories and the Sea (DDTM) went to the site to identify the cause of the animals' deaths and collect clues. "The redundancy of events over an area of ​​80 km², associated with the quality of the elements analyzed demonstrate acts of predation with comparable characteristics: a killing by powerful bite in the throat and with systematic consumption of fleshy parts on one or more victims ", Indicates the prefecture. "The analysis of this set of information converges on the hypothesis of the presence of a wolf in the sector," she believes.

Not a "permanent presence zone"

The discovery of the passage of a wolf in Seine-Maritime does not however lead the state authorities to consider the department as an "area of ​​permanent presence" of the species. In fact, "the determination of an area of ​​permanent presence involves genetic evidence of the presence of the animal for two consecutive years," said the statement.

"Obtaining good quality photos and genetic analyzes will be determining factors in characterizing the species with certainty and trying to determine its origin", concludes the press release, recalling that the wolf is a species that is strictly protected in France like in Europe.

OFB agents have strengthened their surveillance in the relevant sector of the department. To organize consultation between the various players (associations, hunters, farmers), a "wolf" watch unit must be quickly set up. In particular, it will have to define "the practical modalities to be implemented to reconcile the various challenges", both agricultural, hunting and ecological.

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