The fauna of Aveyron
Aveyron is the French department where sheep breeding is the most important. The pastoralism, essentially in the south of the department, is the main thread of a whole economy. There is of course the Roquefort cheese which is made from sheep's milk, but there are also other specialities such as the brousse (fresh cheese, curdled and partially drained), the flaune (delicious cake made from sheep's milk), the pérail (soft cheese with a smooth, round and flat shape). On the Causse du Larzac, large flocks of ewes of several hundred head feed on the short grass of the causse. They are essentially ewes of the Lacaune breed. The sheep meat industry is also important and the department produces very good lamb meat "raised under the mother".
As far as wildlife is concerned, Aveyron has many species that roam freely in the vastness of the woods. While picking mushrooms or raspberries at the edge of a forest, you may observe the tracks of foxes, roe deer, wild boars, and stags whose bellowing sounds at dawn during mating season... But also hares, genets, weasels or squirrels. In recent years, the beaver has also reappeared on the banks of the Tarn and the Dourbie.
Owls, kestrels, tawny owls, falcons, buzzards and bearded vultures are also present. Some extinct species have been reintroduced, such as the griffon vulture (bouldras) reintroduced in the Jonte gorges at the beginning of the eighties, thanks to the Intervention Fund for birds of prey. Today, there are nearly 600 of them in the Grands Causses.
With more than 7,000 km of waterways classified as first and second category, the Aveyron, known as the "country of lakes", is a paradise for fishermen. The fario trout, the typical fish of the Rouergue rivers, the pike, whose abundance and beautiful size the connoisseurs will be able to appreciate, the pike-perch, which you will find more particularly in the lakes of Saint-Geniez-d'Olt, Castelnau-Lassout or Golinhac, the perch, and many others still reveal the richness and the diversity of the aquatic fauna of the region. A special mention for the site Lévézou, the kingdom of fishermen, the lakes of Bages and Gourde preserves nature and tranquility, a place of predilection for fishing for carnivores and white fish.The flora of the department
The Causse du Larzac, under the influence of the Mediterranean and oceanic climates, has a mixture of vegetation of both scrubland and mountain types. The first thing to notice is the moving expanse of stipe pennée, a light grass that the old-timers called "angel hair", it is easy to recognize and symbolizes the causse, it shares the steppe lands with the golden yellow corollas of the spring adonis. If we then look at the case of orchids, we will see that in the department there are 45 species and subspecies (out of a total of 150 in France), including the rare and magnificent Aveyron ophrys, which we admire and protect by never picking it. The dwarf iris can be found from April onwards, just after the hellebore has flowered. The jasmine scent of the small fuchsia-pink flowers of the Alpine daphne is preferred without hesitation. Among the bushes, the male dogwood has small yellow flowers in a cluster (while its fruit is ruby red) and the bearberry, also known as the "bearberry", has pink bell-shaped flowers... To these few examples, Aubrac responds with the same exuberance, as if nature was springing up from the ground after months of snow. Entire meadows are covered with crocuses, daffodils form yellow carpets which tempt the greed of cows and form very pretty bouquets. We also know the silhouette of the great gentian, whose aperitif value is appreciated, but much less the drosera, a carnivorous plant which has unfortunately become very rare.
The Aubrac tea (savory with large flowers - Satureja grandiflora or calament with large flowers - Thymus grandiflora) perfumes infusions and alcohols. The abundant narcissus is still used in the perfume factories of Grasse. A bucolic walker cannot fail to encounter one of the 2,000 plant species of the Aubrac and will perhaps have the chance to admire a beautiful and rare wild tulip.
To find out more, we recommend the works of Hippolyte Costes, a renowned botanist who was president of the Société de géographie botanique in Paris. A country priest from Balaguier-sur-Rance, his encyclopaedia entitled Flore descriptive et illustrée de la France, de la Corse et des contrées limitrophes, is still a reference.Parks and nature reserves
Grands Causses Regional Nature Park
Created on 6 May 1995, this park highlights the strong natural and heritage interest of the Millau region: 93 communes are spread over 330,000 ha. The varied landscapes around Millau, the central place, are based on an alternation of causses (Larzac, Causse noir, Causse rouge or Sauveterre) and gorges (Tarn, Dourbies, Jonte) where the city occupies a "basin" at the foot of the mountains and at the confluence of the rivers The aim of the Park is above all to protect and enhance the natural heritage (fauna and flora) and to support traditional activities and ensure respectful development.
Additional information: www.parc-grands-causses.fr
Aubrac Regional Nature Park
The classification is official since the end of May 2018. After years of studies and preliminary work, Aubrac is the 53rd Regional Nature Park in France. Straddling three departments - Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère -, the plateau had all the elements for this labeling. The nature is generous and the landscapes grandiose. And the agro-pastoral heritage - built and cultural - is quite simply exceptional: medieval rural remains, burons, drailles, and agricultural practices - including transhumance - still very much alive. This recognition therefore celebrates a territory, but also its people and their know-how. The Laguiole knives bear witness to strong artisanal production and identity, and the aligot and Laguiole cheese to quality gastronomic traditions.
Further information: www.parc-naturel-aubrac.fr
