The Fauna of the Grands Causses highlands
The Grands Causses’ fauna is like its highlands: exceptional. Vultures nesting in the Tarn and Jonte river Canyons are found in large numbers, as are many kites and other birds of prey.
Przewalski's horse
The Grands Causses highlands are also a welcoming land: the Przewalski horses, of which there were no longer any representatives in the wild, found refuge here. Here they learn to adapt again to the harsh living conditions of their natural environment, the Mongolian steppes, before being reintroduced there. The association TAKH, created in 1990, at the origin of this project, has been participating for more than 20 years in the safeguarding of these horses, but also in the study of equine populations, thus making it possible to facilitate the management of the reintroduced population.
Sheep and agro-pastoralism on the Grands Causses highlands
Finally, how can we not mention the since-ever inhabitants of these arid highlands? The sheep, companions of man for millennia, are perfectly adapted to the arid climate and the sparse vegetation of these high plateaus. Their breeding has shaped the Grands Causses highlands’ landscapes and the Caussenard hamlets’ architecture. As a matter of fact, the Grands Causses and the Cévennes are classified by UNESCO as "cultural landscape of Mediterranean agro-pastoralism". Even if today the farming methods have changed, sheep breeding continues to be one of the main activities of Grands Causses highlands, and you will come across many herds and large sheepfolds on your way.
