Ty Korrigan Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Brittany south 22.Out with my Jack Russell on Sunday in the rain, we where following a stream when Milou flushed out an animal from a large hole in the bank. It actually exited from a hole under water and then swam past he and I so I got a good look at it. It was brown with a rodents face but I couldn't swear to it having a flat tail although it had a 'fat tail...What could it be...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddie Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I believe that there are no beaver in France. It was probably a coypu - can't remember the French name but they are fairly common. They were exterminated in England as they had become a pest in the fens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opalienne Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I think they are ragondin (coypu), or possibly rats musqué (muskrats). Normally around this time of year poisoned bait is left down for them in river banks and people put up signs warning you not to let dogs run around in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I don't know Brittany, so I don't really know where you were in relation to where the Beavers are, I've copied this bit from my site: " in Brittany the population is limited to la haute vallée de l'Ellez where it was re introduced, being effectively trapped there by an artificial dam and an area more than a kilometer long of natural fallen granite "You can find a lot of information in French, or you can read all the page on my site at: http://www.planetepassion.com/SPECIES%20FACT%20SHEETS/European_beaver.htm The other possibility as saddie wrote is ragondin, or maybe musk rat, but musk rats don't have a thick tail.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninahookins Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Hiwe have lived in the Charente for 4 years now, when we first came we saw loads of these animals and thought like you that they were beavers, have since found out that they are Ragondin (pronunced ragonda). Apparantly in the war they were a good source of meat and made excellent paté.Nina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deimos Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 I don’t know about Beavers but with Ragondin you need to be careful with your dog as they can be dangerous to dogs (in several respects).There are many stories about dogs being attacked by Ragondin and needing quite serious veterinary treatment (presumably the Ragondin perceived the dog as a threat and attacks in self defence). Several people nearby where I live (including some of the local hunters) have told me how bad a Ragondin attack can be).Also, they can carry Leptospirosis – a disease that can be caught by your dog (any you). My local piégeur always wears gloves when picking up dead ones.I always try to keep mine well away from them. Most will disappear quite quickly but every now and again you get one who just stays where it is and does not want to depart.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Animal Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Lovely evening for a little walk after the storms, it was like a firework display here late last night with lightning flashing in the sky in four different places at once.So I took a few dogs along the track to the field where there is a pond. They started to go down to get a drink when there was suddenly great scurrying on the opposite bank as a famille ragondin dived into the water. The dogs wondered what it was, but I called them away as the ragondins were bigger than some of them, one being a little Yorkshire terrier.Just to say that the ragondins had no intention of attacking, just rushed to hide. But maybe they would have defended themselves if the dogs had gone after them.There is still quite a bit of water in the pond, last Summer it was completely dried up, but maybe it was a bit later than now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deimos Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I had a local come round the other week asking if he could trap Ragondin on my land. He has approval for his activity from the Maire and I think was after the reward for catching them. They run a scheme where the trapper (approved by the Maire and probably requiring other qualifications and medicals certificates as well) keeps the tails and then gets paid 1,50€ for each Ragondin.The bodies are kept in some communal freezer somewhere and then periodically collected by a lorry and disposed of safely.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deimos Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 By the way, they also have a web site detailing their rights http://www.chez.com/pgts/ragondin/droits.html (another subversive link likely to cause public order offenses).Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Sam Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Leptospirosis or Weil's Disease is transmitted in the main by contaminated urine entering a break in the skin.It poses a risk to anyone likely to come into contact where rats have urinated, from dog walkers to anglers to fresh water sailors.The risk is as great in the UK as it is in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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