• A gray wolf was identified last month within 50 kilometers of Lyon. 

  • This is a first for over a century. 

In scientific language, it is called "Canis lupus lupus".

A gray wolf was seen in the town of Chambost-Allières in Beaujolais, less than 50 kilometers from Lyon.

It was on the night of April 9 to 10, we learned this Monday from the Rhône prefecture.

A "first for over a century," she says.

In the five days that followed, two predator attacks on sheep were recorded in the town of Vaux-en-Beaujolais.

Which could be the work of the ranger, according to the clues collected by the French biodiversity office.

However, will the animal take up residence in the department?

There is nothing to indicate this to date.

"This finding does not lead to consider the department as an area of ​​permanent presence of the species", replies the prefecture of the Rhône.

A presence in the mountain ranges

The wolf returned to France in the Southern Alps in 1992 to settle on the main mountain ranges of the country.

However, it is not uncommon to see some large canines outside these areas.

This is the case twice a year, in the spring and in the fall.

For very specific reasons.

In the fall, the newly born wolf cubs take their place in the pack, which sometimes forces the “veterans” or other wolves to emigrate to seek a new territory in which to settle.

Looking for a partner

In the spring, those who have almost reached adult size, but who cannot reproduce in packs, are also brought to bundle up in order to find a sexual partner.

"These individuals in the colonization phase can travel several hundred kilometers before settling, and this in a few months", indicates the prefecture.

Which would certainly explain the presence of this gray wolf at the gates of Lyon.

Consequently, any “suspicious observation of a large canine or any attack on a domestic herd” must be promptly reported to the Rhône departmental service of the French Biodiversity Office.

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