Provence 2008: Featherless Vertebrates

There’s more to southern France than white horses, black bulls, and pink flamingos. As a group, we tallied a nice list of mammals and reptiles, though I don’t think anyone (and certainly not I) scored 100% of either group.

The most frequently seen among the furry creatures was European rabbit, among the first animals most of saw on landing in Paris. We also ran across a few European hares, though this was one I somehow missed this trip. European red squirrels were, as usual, scarce but delightful when glimpsed, and some in the group got to see a weasel. Nutrias were even more abundant, and even more brash, in the Camargue than on my last visit, and the sounds of their gnawing and amorous groans accompanied us everywhere.

Once again I failed to see a Montpellier snake, but as the weather warmed towards the end of our trip, we did run across lizards of at least two species, including the lovely green lizard. I assume that the few turtles we saw were pond terrapins, and though we heard plenty of frogs, I never got to see one. Certainly the most exciting reptile was a nice little European adder on the trail at La Capeliere, only the third or fourth I’d ever seen; like all others I’d encountered, it stood its ground for a few seconds, then decided that we were all of us probably too big to swallow anyway and eased off into the vegetation.