Between Worlds: Nature in Val Pellice

Nature in Val Pellice

Val Pellice was formed by the Ice Age and is part of the geological massif called the Dora-Maira, situated in the Cottian Alps. The origin of the Alps is thought to be the collision of two plates, the African and Eurasian plate.

The Wildlife of Val Pellice

It is a good idea to take good binoculars as well as Nordic walking poles and proper walking kit, when walking in Val Pellice and its side valleys. The wildlife is rich and varied, depending on altitude. Lower down are deer which may graze in meadows at the valley in half light. In the forests at the bottom of the valley are red squirrels, foxes, badgers, hares and small mammals. At the higher altitudes are whistling marmots, chamois, ibex and bighorn sheep, wild boar. There are ermine (stoats in white winter fur) on crags and scree.

An ermine - a stoat in winter fur

By Mustela_erminea_winter.jpg: Steven Hintderivative work: Guerillero (talk) - Mustela_erminea_winter.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14519034

On the upper valley passes, a lone wolf may be seen in unpopulated high valleys. Val Pellice is a corridor much used by migrant birds. Goldcrest and the magnificent bearded vulture may be spotted at times.

Bearded Vulture By Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2888498

There are many sparrows, chaffinches, redstarts, white wagtail and grey wagtail, robins and a variety of tits. There are rock partridge, forest jays and in the upper valleys, ravens. Buzzards, kites and short-toed eagles hunt here, circling.

There are four or five places in the region of Val Pellice of considerable interest for their flora and fauna and it is best to visit them in spring for the best of the flowers.

The Conca del Pra, a magnificent side valley once a glacial lake
Areas of Myricaria Germanica between Villar and Bobbio Pellice
The Oasis of Pra-Barant which has an Alpine Botanical Garden
The Pian Prà-Rorà Forest

Conca del Pra, off Val Pellice, was the site of a glacial lake. View looking forward Mount Granero

Di Francofranco56 - Opera propria, Pubblico dominio, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7693635

The Conca del Prà valley has a wide base which was once a large glacial lake. It leads up to the slopes of Monte Granero. All the mountains around Pra are full of edelweiss and wormwood from which one can make Genepì liquor. There are whistling marmots and ibex and a walking tour in late spring-early summer is recommended because the area has an exceptional botanical riches and at this time of year one can see all the major species of flowering alpine herbs.

The Barant Oasis

It has a total area of about 4,000 hectares, 13% of the entire Val Pellice valley area. The northernmost part of the oasis is near the town of Bobbio Pellice but includes the high valley of Guicchard. Near the Colle Barant is an Alpine Botanical Garden called Peyronel Bruno named after Bruno Peyronel known naturalist of the Waldensian valleys. The Association of Botany (Hautes Alpes) has recorded more than 300 different species of Alpine flora of which over thirty are endemic. In the Barant Oasis in addition to other mammals mentioned above are :

mouflon (Ovis musimon)
Alpine salamander (Salamandra lanzai)
wild boar (Sus scrofa)
golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)
ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)
black grouse (Tetrao tetrix)
black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius).

Areas of Myricaria Germanica

Myricaria germanica, a small flowering shrub whose wood can be used for fuel covers a hundred hectares between the territories of Villar Pellice and Bobbio Pellice.