Wild animals that live in France

Mediterranean Monk Seals were typical seen in many French and Corsican beaches in the past, but since 1970´s these animals have not been spotted in the coast of France, so we are afraid, that even though, they are listed as critically endangered, they could be extinct in this part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Luckily, the international panorama isn´t as a bad and you will still be able to find Monk Seals in the Greek and Turkish coast, Madeira Island and Cabo Blanco, in Mauritania, where the largest colony is located.

Monk Seals have been suffering for centuries, but an increase of its population in the last years could mean a good change for this beautiful ocean creatures.

The European Mink is probably the most endangered specie of not just France, but the whole European continent. These small mammals used to be found all over Europe about a century ago, especially in Russia (that´s where the name of Russian Mink comes from), but unfortunately, due to the habitat loss, hunting, pollution and most important, the introduction of the American Mink back in 1926 for fur farming, spotting one nowadays would be almost impossible. France and Spain might be the only options.

The main habitats of this amazing animal are rivers in the middle of the forest. Their great swimming skills allows them to hunt all kind of fish, frogs, and crustaceans.

Another of the most endangered animals found in France is the North Atlantic Right Whale. This animals have been suffering for many decades and the main reasons are climate change which alters the temperatures of the sea, entanglement in fishing gear and the increase of the ocean noise due to human activities, which makes their communication harder.

The future isn´t too bright for this magnific ocean animal, as in despite of all the actions that are being taken, their situation is getting worst each year. The last research done (in 2018), said there are about 400 North Atlantic Right Whales in the world, but the worst of all, is that there are just 100 breeding females left and only 22 births have been observed since 2017.

Brown bears are another of the most endangered species of France. Although things are getting better in the last years, Brown bears´ life have never been easy in this country.

In the past, they were trained and used to entertain, later humans started to destroy their habitats with the construction of mines and meanwhile hunting was also happening. All these caused the extinction of the brown bear in France.

They were reintroduced later in 2006 and thankfully the population is finally growing (slowly but growing). Of course, this doesn´t mean they will be able to leave peacefully, as there are still many people against bears in the country.

As we said before, there are many endangered animals that live in France, but telling you about all of them would take forever, so here is the last endangered French animal of our list, the Mouflon.

Before we tell you anything about this ancient sheep, we want you to look for “Mouflon in France” in Google, you will see that most of the articles talk about hunting them… That´s when you realize how messed up is their situation. In despite of being listed as endangered, hunting them is totally legal and furthermore, it is being promoted.

On another note, there is a very cool fact about their horns, which is that they grow a new ring each year, that´s why they are so big.

Out of all the species only found in France, the most famous one is this cute little bird. As its name says, the Corsican Nuthatch is endemic to Corsica and the island is the only place in the world you will be able to find it.

Unfortunately, these birds are also in the red list of endangered species, they are categorized as vulnerable. The main reason is of course their small distribution.

They live in altitudes from 800 to 1600m (2,600 to 5,200 ft), where the Corsican pines can be found. These types of pines are the place where they can build their nests.

We must admit that finding an Alpine Marmot while hiking through the mountains is a pretty cool experience. Every time these small animals feel like they are in danger ( when one of their predators or humans are around), they start to call each other, so if you suddenly hear a whistle, you know who is around.

A very interesting fact about Marmots, is that they disappeared from different parts of France many years ago, but they are so important to the ecosystem and for tourism, that various Natural and Regional Parks decided to reintroduce them and now their population is flourishing.

Fox is also one of those animals you can find all over the country. Spotting one isn´t as easy as the marmot, they are pretty scare of humans, plus they are also super-fast, so even though there are foxes in almost every French national park, don´t expect them to be waiting for you.

Some interesting facts about Foxes are that unlike wolves, they usually like to hunt by themselves and that they eat almost all kind of food, fruits, eggs, birds, rabbits… that´s why many times you see them grabbing some food by the trash.

As it happened with bears, Lynx were also hunted to extinction in France, luckily in the 70s the Lynx were reintroduced in Switzerland and somehow a few of them ended up moving to France. Since then the Lynx have been living in France and luckily their situation is much better now and they aren´t even listed as endangered.

That said, don´t you think it is easy to find one of them. There aren´t so many, plus they are also very good at hiding, so you would have to be very patient to find one.

The best place to find them are all near the French-swiss border, Jura National park, Vosges National Park, and the Northern Alps.

The Eurasian Wolf is another animal that in 1930s was hunted to extinction in France. Thankfully, in 1992 a pack of wolves made it through the Italian mountains back to France. Since then, the specie has been recovering, and today France is estimated to have around 300 wolves. The reason to its extinction was the same as the bears, sheep farmers see them as an enemy, because occasionally, a sheep is found killed by a wolf. Every time this happens, the sheep farmer gets a compensation for their lost.

Wolves aren´t easy to find neither, but have in mind that if you do spot one, there are many chances that you will find a few more, they usually go in groups of 6 to 12.

Since the early 1800´s the Gallic Rooster has been the national animal of France. There are many theories about why this is, but the most heard one says, it is because it symbolizes the vigilance, as Gallic Rosters are known for being the first ones to wake up, right before sunrise time.

This animal has been used in stamps and even in French coins. Furthermore, today you will also find it in the official emblem of the French national sports teams. The Gallic Roster is probably the most famous icon and symbol of the country.