La marmotta alpina nelle alpi francesi. Distribuzione geografica passata ed attuale. The marmot in the French Alps : current and past geographic distribution [La marmotte dans les Alpes françaises : répartition géographique actuelle et passée].

Résumé

The distribution of the marmot in the French Alps was determined in 1988-1989 by means of a questionnaire sent to hunters, foresters, and naturalists in 1,579 communes (small administrative units). The change in geographic distribution occuring over the past 25 years was evaluated by comparing the 1988-1989 results with those obtained from similar inquiries conducted by Couturier (1966) and the O.N.C. in 1978-1979 (unpublished. Today, the marmot is present in 493 communes (Tab.1). Ecept for a few cases of disappearance, the geographic range has greatly increased since 1964 (fig.1). Couturier only mentioned the marmot as being present in the interior Alps and in the northern Prealps. Today, owing to intrductions, the species is found throughout the Alps as well as in the southern prealps. The most southern colony was established on the Cheiron, in the prealps of Nice, fewer than 15 km from the Mediterranean Sea.