The fauna of Languedoc
The sky of the Languedoc welcomes many birds and birds of prey. The Camargue and the other ponds along the Mediterranean coast are particularly favourable environments for the development of these species. Here, there are as many sedentary as highly migratory birds. It is not uncommon to see black coots (or scoters), egrets, grey herons, geese and storks taking flight. But the emblematic bird is of course the pink flamingo. This great traveller, who would normally winter in North Africa, has been accustomed to staying in the region even during the winter for the last twenty years.In the Languedoc massifs, it is the birds of prey that watch over the region. Among the species that live in these areas are the capercaillie and the golden eagle. The successful reintroduction of the griffon vulture in 1981 and the monk vulture in 1992 are also worth mentioning.
The Languedoc region is largely covered with garrigue. Diversified and adapted to the peculiarities of the climate, it is abundant and is home to some particular species such as the Montpellier snake, a snake more than 2 m long, the small grey lizard ( angrole ) and the little grey lizard ( cargolade ). Scrubland with dense vegetation, the garrigue has seen a proliferation of wild boar in recent years.
These areas are also dotted with livestock farms. In the Languedoc, and particularly in the Camargue, they are home to some emblematic species. The bull comes to mind in particular. Small and black, with lyre horns, it lives in semi-liberty in farms named " manades ". He is a descendant of the animals painted on the walls of prehistoric caves. The other essential animal for the manade is the Camargue horse. Small, stocky and descended from local breeds, it has wide hooves adapted to wetlands. Docile, easy to train, it is one with its rider, the " gardian ", and is an effective aid to driving and controlling the herd of bulls.
The waters of the Languedoc are also home to a variety of species. In the coastal ponds, the development of migratory fish is favoured by the presence of lagoons communicating with the sea through more or less active passages, the " graux ". The two most representative species are the sea bream which " sort " in the sea from September and the eel which stays there from autumn to the end of winter. Apart from mussels and oysters, which are farmed industrially, many shellfish inhabit these étangs : clams, tellines, clams and other bivalves. We must not forget, in the marine fauna, sea fish (small red mullet, monkfish, wolf...) and mammals (dolphins).
Reintroduction policies
Thanks to the action of natural parks, private initiatives or local authorities, certain species, which are endangered or have sometimes been extinct for many years, have been reintroduced, either in the wild or in semi-liberty.One of the best examples of this policy is the Caroux mouflon. The Parc naturel du Haut-Languedoc reintroduced the mouflon in 1956. This ancestor of the domestic sheep - that is to say, whether it had its rightful place in the region - had disappeared from mainland France in the 19th century. Small in size, it has adapted perfectly to the dry and snowy Hérault mountains, where it has found a favourable environment. More than 60 years have passed and the result is là : the herd numbers more than a thousand head and extends over the whole of the Caroux and Espinousemassifs.
We can also mention the arrival of the European bison from 1991. These giants of Poland were absent from the lands of Margeride since 1 500 ans. Today,they spend quiet days in the Sainte-Eulalie reserve, in the south-west of Lozère. Another example is Przewalski's horse. Thousands of years ago, this species populated Central Asia and cave paintings attest to its presence in France in Prehistory. To contribute to its preservation, 8 Przewalski's horses were installed in the 1990s on the Méjean Causse (Lozère), an area particularly well adapted to the species. The experiment is a success, since about forty animals currently live in semi-liberty on the site and, at the end of 2004, descendants of the Lozerian horses left to repopulate Mongolia.
Also in Lozère, a small society of more than 120 wolves from Mongolia, Europe and Canada can be admired in the reserve of Saint Lucia, in Margeride. In these lands of Gévaudan legends, they live in semi-liberty and reveal their true character to the curious who wish to approach them.
The flora
The forest that once extended over the plain and hills of the Languedoc has lost ground due to urbanisation and the development of agricultural crops. Originally, the Mediterranean forest is a complex formation with several plant strata. At the very top are the holm (or yeuse) oak with dark green evergreen foliage, the Aleppo pine with needles filtering the sun's rays and the strawberry bush with red berries. Below are the shrubs with the names évocateurs : mastic grass, terebinths, boxwood, juniper, kermes oaks with prickly leaves.... Close to the ground, grasses mainly dominate the brachypod, the sheep's favourite grass, mingling with aromatic plants, the most famous of which is thyme.As soon as the altitude rises, up to about 800 m, the oak family expands with the white oak. In the Pyrénées-Orientales, a calcifuge species, the cork oak, has been developed and has always been used to make corks.
In the mountains, the beech occupies a predominant place and there are vast replantings of pines, firs, spruces and sometimes cedars.
A special place must be made for the chestnut tree, " l 'tree to pain " of the Cévennes and all the populations of the southern edge of the Massif Central. Cultivated between 400 m and 1 000 m on terraces, providing timber, it has enabled the survival of many generations through its fruits consumed by man and livestock under different formes .
Higher up, the vegetation is becoming scarce and shrinking. Mountain lawns then appear, as in the Pyrenean massif, reminiscent of mountain pastures or the colourful moors that cover the peaks of Mount Lozèreor Caroux. Only the forest remains on the northern slopes as in Cerdagne or Capcir or with the magnificent fir trees of the high plateaus of Aude.
In the middle of this diversified vegetation, some flowers and rare plants remain. One thinks in particular of the oyat, the best known plant of the dune. This small grass with tracer roots maintains the barrier beach. In the Aude, the Clape massif is home to an endemic centaurea, the centaurea corymbosa, discovered in the 18th century by Abbot Pourret. Finally, one of the specificities of the Languedoc flora is linked to the presence of brackish water, the result of the mixing of fresh and sea water. This environment attracts halophilic (salt-loving) plants such as saladelle and salicorne. As soon as the water becomes fresher, the reed bed develops.
Natural parks
In the north of the former region, there is the Cévennes National Park. Created in 1970, it covers five different areas: the Méjean plateau, Mount Lozère, the Bougès mountain, the Gardon valleys and the Aigoual massif. Large of 321 000 ha, its mission is to preserve the natural richness and diversity, resulting from the variety of climates (oceanic, continental, Mediterranean), soils (granite, limestone, shale) and differences in altitude, ranging from 378 m to 1 699 m. This world reserve of the biosphere, recognized as such by Unesco since 1985, is conducive to biological enrichment: natural recolonization of species (Tengmaln's owl, laughing frog, otter...), reintroduction (mouflons, beavers, griffon and monk vultures...), etc.
Straddling the departments of Tarn and Hérault, the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park covers 260,000 ha (93 communes). Its aim is to protect the fauna and flora of the Espinouse, Caroux, Montagne Noire, Sidobre and Lacaune mountains, further west. The nature is wild and its vegetation contrasted. Deep gorges, like those of Héric or Colombières, mark these landscapes. There are thriving new hosts such as the mouflons of Caroux.
To the west, the regional natural park of the Narbonnaise en Méditerranée is a veritable Garden of Eden for flora, birds and fish. Its 80,000 ha territory is composed of 8,000 ha of wetlands, 300 ha of beaches and dunes, 20,000 ha of Mediterranean Sea, 740 ha of salt flats, 24,000 ha of garrigues, 6,500 ha of forests and 15,000 ha of vineyards. Exceptional, the park is home to 300 species of birds (out of 514 recorded in Europe) and 2,000 plant species (including 6 of international interest).
Finally we have the regional natural park of the Catalan Pyrenees, on the French-Spanish border. It extends entirely in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, over 138,000 ha. It concerns three historical and natural regions, with strong identities: Conflent, Capcir and Cerdagne. Its mountainous character is marked by the presence of Canigó, the emblematic mountain of the Catalans and the Pyrenees, and four peaks exceeding 2 900 meters. Its biodiversity is remarkable: 60 mountain lakes, numerous wetlands, a characteristic flora of mountain massifs in contact with the Mediterranean climate, emblematic animals (the bearded vulture, the Pyrenean desman, the capercaillie, the bear...), plants unique in the world such as the Pyrenean alysson, etc.
