Fifty years of management of alpine marmots in France [Cinquante ans de gestion des marmottes alpines en France].

Résumé

Until World War II Alpine marmots were considered as game animals and constituted an important natural resource for mountain people in France supplying food and skin for handcraft. Intensive exploitation led to a preoccupant decline of the populations. The first data concerning management appeared with the onset of Nature reserves in theAlpine mountains. Nowadays marmots are considered as game animals. But their status has evolved : according to the geographic area, they are either strictly protected or considered as game animals. Marmots are no longer thought an interesting game. Only a few traditional hunters kill them for winter consumption and hunting is authorized two or three weeks only before marmots hibernate. The main aspect of management is the translocation of marmots. It began in 1948 with introductions in areas where marmots became extinct during pre-historical times : Pyrenees, Central Massif, Vosges (7% of captured animals). Translocation of marmots permitted also reintroduction in places where these animals had recently disappeared (Prealps or Alps) or to re-inforce populations in other places (86% of translocated animals). In such a way, marmot is the only medium sized mammal, in France, showing an extension of its range since the last quarter of century. The demographic increase has beneficial aspects on energetic network of Alpine ecosystems: it allows the development of predators such as Golden eagle or Red foxes and increases the biodiversity of the ecosystem (reducing the predation pressure on other frail species). Causes of translocations are various : complaints of farmers; balancing or increasing of frail island populations ; translocations into safer areas following large-scale engineering works. But the main motive supporting reintroduction is socio-economics linked to summer tourism and recreation development. Most of relases were successful, with the exception of acclimatizations attempted in Jura and in Vosges, though few had any formal planning or evaluation and low number of animals were involved. They may explain the present increase of the marmot range. But, at the same time marmots are still disappearing in some places and most of the marmot populations outside protected areas are precarious. Re-introductions were realized without or few any formal planning or evaluation. It is important to develop criteria for measuring the success of different rehabilitation schemes taking into account the socio-economic backgrounds.