Tous pour L’ours! — Photos
Supporters of the the Pyrenean brown bear population gathered July 4 both virtually and in person — in front of the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne in Toulouse — to protest the recent shooting death of one of the protected animals. Organizers called on the State to properly investigate the incident, and introduce a new bear into the region to replace the one that was killed. –all images by … Continue reading Tous pour L’ours! — Photos
Annus Horribilis: Two Pyrenean Brown Bears Killed In As Many Months
What looked to be a propitious year for the brown bear population of the Pyrenees Mountains has instead taken a tragic turn with the untimely deaths of two of the animals, both adult males. More alarming still is that at least one of the deaths was no accident, as confirmed by an autopsy carried out after the discovery on Tuesday of a bullet-riddled bear corpse … Continue reading Annus Horribilis: Two Pyrenean Brown Bears Killed In As Many Months
France’s Bears Emerge From Their Winter ‘Confinement’
A photograph by a young Frenchman is providing a rare and stunning visual of a process that has progressed — quietly and mostly out of sight — over the past several weeks. While the humans of France and Spain are hunkered down in their homes right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the mountains that separate the two countries, another plantigrade species is doing … Continue reading France’s Bears Emerge From Their Winter ‘Confinement’
A Wolf In The Winery
The surprise wasn’t so much what the villagers spotted that day roaming among the grape vines, but where they saw it. Wolves, after all, have made a steady comeback in France after being eradicated nearly a century ago. There are now at least 530 of them, according to government estimates — more if you ask the many farmers who’ve lost livestock to the predators in … Continue reading A Wolf In The Winery
Giving France’s Treasured Trees Their Due
SAINT-GUILHEM-LE-DÉSERT — Even here, in a part of the world where big, beautiful plane trees abound, the behemoth that rises above the Place de la Liberté in the hillside village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is a sight to behold. From a massive trunk that measures more than six meters around, the “Roi Platane” (The Plane King), as it’s known, stretches out and then up, its top branches … Continue reading Giving France’s Treasured Trees Their Due
Chileans Again Make Their Mark In Montpellier
MONTPELLIER — Three weeks after a tidal wave of popular frustration gushed forth in Chile, turning the country on its head, protestors are continuing to take to the streets, day after day, by the hundreds of thousands. Chileans living abroad are doing their part as well to support the movement, and to give it visibility in their adopted countries and cities. The community of Chilean … Continue reading Chileans Again Make Their Mark In Montpellier
A Peek Into The Secret World Of France’s Few Wild Bears
Although their presence is certainly felt — and a source of serious consternation for some livestock breeders — the few dozen brown bears that populate the Pyrenees Mountains are seldom seen. But thanks to a compilation of video footage and still photos that France’s ONCFS (l’Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage) posted last week on YouTube, anyone with an Internet connection … Continue reading A Peek Into The Secret World Of France’s Few Wild Bears
…And The Rain Came Tumbling Down…
After a long, dry summer, the city of Montpellier got a serious dousing on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The midday downpour caused the Lez River to overflow its banks and turned the graffiti-bordered Le Verdanson, a tributary that normally runs at a trickle, into a raging torrent. Continue reading …And The Rain Came Tumbling Down…
El Pueblo Unido! Unrest In Chile Prompts Montpellier Protest
Montpellier’s resident Chileans made their presence felt Monday night in the city’s main square, the Place de la Comédie, where about 100 people gathered to protest the government repression taking place right now in Santiago and elsewhere in Chile. “Instead of entering into a dialogue with the people, the president decided to use force,” said Tania Trigo, who came to France from Santiago two and … Continue reading El Pueblo Unido! Unrest In Chile Prompts Montpellier Protest
Climate Change And ‘Conchyliculture’ In The Étang de Thau
BOUZIGUES — Located on the Étang de Thau, a large lagoon just inland from the Mediterranean Sea, in far southern France, Bouzigues is brimming with charm. A friend in Montpellier mentioned just last night that she got married there. Makes sense. With its classic church tower and narrow, earth-toned maisons de village lining a gently curving waterfront promenade, the town is everything the area’s more recently … Continue reading Climate Change And ‘Conchyliculture’ In The Étang de Thau
There's a place in France... 