Grands Causses Regional Natural Park
Natural environments Grands Causses Regional Natural Park
The bird fauna of the Park includes around 200 species, of which around 124 build nests. There are 41 species of birds with the highest protection level on European level (Birds directive). The stone curlew, the nightjar or the tawny pip are typical of the dry meadow regions of the Causses, and the cliffs and ledges are homes to peregrine falcons, golden eagles, red-billed choughs, etc.
Successfully reinserted in the gorge of the Jonte in the 1980s, the griffon vulture can be found in the entire limestone-plateau part of the Park. A carrion feeder, it is closely linked to shepherding. The Eurasian black vulture was also reinserted in the gorge of the Jonte between 1992 and 2004.
Beavers and otters once again occupy several rivers in the Park. Although shy and very discreet due to its nocturnal habits, the genet has established a good presence throughout the Park.
The Grands Causses are renowned for their wealth of endemic species: aquilegia viscosa, Duval's euphorbia, the triple-nervured aster, the Causses butterwort, Aymonin ophrys, Aveyron ophrys, etc.
Jean-Henri Fabre, the famous author of "Souvenirs entomologiques" was born in Saint-Léons, in the Lévezou. The first years of his life were decisive for his passion about nature and the direction of the research that would, eventually, make him famous. A museum pays tribute to Jean-Henri Fabre at his birth place in Saint-Léons, focusing on his skills as an observer and a storyteller of the lives of insects, "these despicable creatures, only good enough to be crushed", in the opinion of his friends and relatives.
