Last week, I've seen at the natural history museum that the population
of birds in France has decreased of 15 % in 30 years including 10 % in
the towns (the most, 20 %, in farming lands "champs cultivés" probably
because modern farming techniques reduces the number of insects and
concentrates pesticids). There is as well 1.3 million hunters, the
largest european population, but France is too the largest country in
Europe after Russia and Ukraine (2.36 hunters / km² in FR, 3.27 in UK,
1.94 in SP, 0.95 in GER). On the other hand the number and populations
of birds species fluctuates as it has always been the case. Some
decrease including the protected "hirondelle" in towns, others
increase like the "étourneau", the "goéland" or the "cormoran". Few
have diseappeared like the "grande outarde" in early XXth c. I think.
Some are very rare like the "ganga cata", only present in a tiny
steppe in France in all western Europe or the "gypaete" whose small
population is nevertheless increasing since all preybirds are
protected in France since more than 40 years. The number of endangered
species nevertheless increases : some of the most are the single
pinguin (Torda) living in France (continental) and the "macareux", in
the oldest french natural reserve, which didn't recovered from the
consequences of Amoco Cadiz and Torrey Canyon oil polution and are at
the verge of extinction because climate change (hot) didn't help
neither. The bear of course is the most endangered mammal (about
15...) with the european "vison" and the wild hamster... but the wolf
is rapidly increasing and the lynx, the beaver or the "loutre" are
saved. The "desman", a small mammal, is endemic to France and Spain.
Nevertheless not a single mammal disappeared from France since the
auroch in the middle ages... (around 13th c.) except the pyrenean
"bouquetin" which only crossed the border and still lives on the other
side of the mountain in Spain. Because french towns are rather dense
(less land waste), the country is mountainous in several parts (5
massifs), keeps a 1/4 in forests, notably in East and south, and has a
low density of about 100 inh. /km² compared with the rest of western
Europe. Since the 80ies a few birds (3 or 4) have diseappered too in
the french overseas islands because of population and predators
increase. French tropical areas are the most at risk in fact.

didier Meurgues