{"id":13695,"date":"2025-07-21T17:48:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T15:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.praloup.com\/toutes-les-experiences\/discover-winter-wildlife\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T16:46:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:46:25","slug":"discover-winter-wildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.praloup.com\/en\/discover-winter-wildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover winter wildlife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Discover winter wildlife<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Home<\/a><\/span> All experiences<\/a><\/span> Discover winter wildlife<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n

In Pra Loup, winter transforms the mountains into a vast adventure playground<\/strong>. Ski touring, split-boarding or snowshoeing outings offer timeless moments: cottony silence, immaculate valleys, encounters with nature… But for some of the residents of these heights, this season is anything but a walk in the park. It is even a question of survival. <\/p>\n\n

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Sophie ROUX (PNM)<\/div><\/div>

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Ubaye & Mercantour, preserved territories<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even if they are not always seen, there are many animals living in the forests, mountain pastures and wild slopes of the Ubaye and the Mercantour National Park. During your winter outings, you may be lucky enough to come across chamois<\/strong>, ibex<\/strong>, or even to surprise an ermine<\/strong> leaping in the snow. Higher up, the shadow of a golden eagle<\/strong> or bearded vulture<\/strong> can pass over you, while in quiet forests, mountain hare<\/strong>, fox<\/strong> or deer<\/strong> sometimes leave telltale tracks in the snow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most of the time, these animals prefer to stay at a distance<\/strong>. And that’s normal: they spotted you long before you saw them. Their survival depends on this discretion<\/strong>. Observing a track, hearing a distant cry, or simply feeling their presence, is already a beautiful encounter. And it’s even stronger when you know that you didn’t bother them. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

The black grouse, inhabiting dicret<\/em><\/h2><\/div>\n\n

The black grouse is a bit like the ghost of high-altitude forests<\/strong>. You probably won’t see him, but if you get too close to him, he’ll see you \u2013 and run away. And that’s the problem.In winter, this emblematic bird settles in quiet areas, often between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level<\/strong>. It shelters under snow-laden branches<\/strong>, where it can stay warm, protected from the wind and prying eyes. <\/p>\n\n

The black grouse is programmed to hardly move during the winter<\/strong>. His metabolism slows down, and each sudden flight causes him to lose a precious amount of energy. If it is disturbed several times during the day, it can literally become exhausted. And the winter is long, very long for him. <\/p>\n\n

Another concern: in spring, the males begin a spectacular courtship display, called “the crowing of the heather”.<\/strong> For it to take place, you need calm, otherwise the females flee. Fewer matings means fewer young grouse the following year… and a species that is declining, discreetly but surely. <\/p>\n\n

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