8.9. Walk to the shepherd
Walk to the shepherd
We left the village of Peyresq (1528m) and walked through the path of Couradour in the direction of “le Plan du Rieu” where we found the hut: “la Cabane Vieille” (2050m). Antoine, the shepherd, lives there with his wife, his little daughter, two dogs and his flock. As we were speaking with him, his flock was browsing lower in grazing land. Questions that have been asked:
- How many sheeps do you have?
1700 in total and 300 belong to him. At this period, 800 sheeps are at Thorame which is a village located lower in the Valley. Indeed, sheeps which are giving birth at the end of the summer (summer lambing) must stay in area where grass will be available for some months. Whereas, sheeps, from spring lambing, can stay all the summer in grazing land.
- How much time do you stay at pastures?
End of June at Thurame, sheeps from different owners are regrouped to constitute the flock. And then, transhumance begins. The flock stays in the mountains from end of June to middle or end of October, depending on the weather and first snow falls.
- Do you make money?
Yes, essentially because I don’t spend what I earn in the city. I earn the minimum wages and especially, I’m happy and free in a fabulous landscape.
- Have you been attacked by wolfs?
Last year, I lost 60 sheeps. This year, thanks to the “Patou” (sheepdog), nothing happened.
- Do you have some money back for sheep’s lost?
Yes but it’s long to arrive. After request and inspection, I’m repaid the average price of a sheep that means more or less 100 euros. Usually, sheeps are sold for 25 euros the kilo of meat.
On the peaks, we met a chamois with a very strange behaviour. As we were very close, we saw that he was blind (see photo). The shepherd explained that it’s due to a contagious disease, probably consecutive to overcrowding and inbreeding.
Cathy Jolibert
Photo gallery from the walk to the shepherd
Photographs by Chris Andrews (ca), Espen Dahl (ed), Sabine Lütkemeier (sl), Sofia Neto (sn), Sandra Öberg (so), Zlatko Petrin (zp), Kristina Raab (kr), Martin Sharman (ms), Caspar Verwer (cv) and Allan Watt (aw)
