WhyTrek quiz
Thirty-two questions on how the animals of the Jura get through winter, and what our presence costs them. Four levels, from the roe deer to the ptarmigan, from the least to the best equipped for the cold.
The answers explained
All thirty-two questions and their answers, with what lies behind each figure. Read this after playing, otherwise it loses all its interest.
Adapting to winter
How does the black grouse spend its winter nights?Roe deer
It digs an igloo in the snow Every day it digs an igloo in the powder snow. Inside it is about five degrees when it is minus twenty outside.
Which of these three animals truly hibernates?Roe deer
The marmot The marmot. Its temperature drops from thirty-six to six degrees, its heart from one hundred and twenty to thirty beats a minute, and it breathes only two or three times a minute.
Is the roe deer well adapted to moving through snow?Roe deer
No, it sinks and wears itself out No. Twenty kilos, slender legs, no adaptation at all. It is the most vulnerable hoofed animal in our forests in winter.
How much food can the black grouse store in its crop?Chamois
About one hundred and twenty grams About one hundred and twenty grams. Yet on a day at minus twenty degrees, its normal activity equals eight hundred and twenty-five grams, almost seven times its capacity.
Which species makes the opposite choice to the others and stays high up all winter?Chamois
The ibex The ibex. It stays on ridges blown clear of snow by the wind, which forces it to move a lot to feed, unlike all the others, which cut down their activity.
Why do the rock ptarmigan and the mountain hare have a very short flight distance?Chamois
They rely on their white camouflage Their camouflage. White on white, they feel invisible and only leave at the last moment, which then exposes them to predators.
When in winter is roe deer mortality highest?Chamois
At the end of winter At the end of winter. It comes out of it exhausted, and it is often in March that a fox, normally unable to catch one, makes it its prey.
Faced with cold, a cold-blooded animal enters:Ibex
Torpor Torpor. The term hibernation is reserved for warm-blooded animals, which deliberately lower their body temperature.
The bear spends the winter in:Ibex
Winter dormancy Winter dormancy. Light sleep and slight hypothermia, which allows it to give birth during the winter.
At our latitudes, how many hibernating and winter-dormant species are there?Ibex
Seven and two Seven hibernators: the marmot, edible dormouse, garden dormouse, hazel dormouse, European hamster, hedgehog and most bats. Two winter-dormant species, the bear and the badger.
What temperature does a hibernating marmot's body drop to?Ibex
About five degrees About five to six degrees, compared with thirty-six when active.
The chamois rut, which greatly weakens the males at the start of winter, takes place when?Ptarmigan
Mid-November In mid-November. The females, for their part, spend the winter pregnant, which uses a great deal of energy.
And the ibex rut?Ptarmigan
Mid-December In mid-December. Males and females therefore face the same difficulties as the chamois, a month later.
The chamois has a web of skin between its two hooves. What is it for?Ptarmigan
It works like a snowshoe It works like a snowshoe. That is not enough, though: in deep snow, fleeing is still extremely costly.
On snow-free ground, the roe deer's top speed is about:Ptarmigan
70 km/h About 70 km/h, and only over a few hundred metres. It relies on this explosive start to escape. On snow, that advantage disappears.
Thanks to its exceptional heart, the chamois can climb a thousand metres in:Ptarmigan
About fifteen minutes About fifteen minutes. It outruns every other animal uphill, hence its strategy of fleeing upwards.
How many times a day does the black grouse feed, and for how long in total?Ptarmigan
Twice, two to three hours Twice a day, morning and evening, for two to three hours in all. The rest of the time, it rests in its igloo.
Which bird comes down to the lowlands every morning to feed and goes back up at nightfall to its shelters?Ptarmigan
The Alpine chough The Alpine chough. The wallcreeper and the dipper, on the other hand, move right down into the valley for the winter.
The cost of disturbance
In winter, how many times more energy does a chamois use walking through fifty centimetres of snow than on dry ground?Roe deer
Six times Six times. And ten times if it has to flee in the same conditions. These measurements come from a study by Mattfeld, Geist and Moen.
An animal that does not move as you approach is not disturbed.Roe deer
False False. As soon as it has spotted you, it is on alert, and that state delays its feeding. Fleeing is only the visible part of the disturbance.
Fleeing through fifty centimetres of snow on a ten per cent slope, the chamois's energy use is multiplied by:Chamois
Sixty Sixty. That figure explains why an ordinary encounter can weigh heavily on an energy balance that is already negative.
In its igloo, can the black grouse hear a skier coming from far away?Chamois
No, snow also blocks out noise No. Snow insulates against sound. It only senses danger a few metres away, sometimes once someone has already stepped on its shelter.
Good habits
You come across a chamois fifty metres away. What do you do?Roe deer
Give it time to move away Stop and let it leave at its own pace. A panicked escape through snow costs far more than a calm retreat.
Is it better to walk in existing tracks or break your own trail in fresh snow?Roe deer
In existing tracks In existing tracks. A route already in use always does less harm than a new trail in an area the wildlife thought was quiet.
To limit disturbance, is it better to cross open ground or woodland?Chamois
Open ground Open ground. You see each other from further away, there is no surprise, and the animal can move off calmly.
The rules
Can you take your dog on a lead into the Haute Chaîne du Jura Nature Reserve?Roe deer
No, not even on a lead No. The reserve's rules say dogs are prohibited, even on a lead. There are only four exceptions: herding, rescue, hunting during the season, and sledding.
What is a protected wintering zone?Chamois
A marked area set aside for wildlife to rest A sensitive wintering area, marked with posts or flags, where passing through in winter is particularly harmful. Most concern the black grouse.
In the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve, dogs are:Ibex
Prohibited, even on a lead Prohibited, even on a lead. The exceptions are sheepdogs, rescue dogs, hunting dogs during the hunting season, and sled dogs under a traffic plan.
During which period does the biotope protection order for the high-altitude forests of the Haut-Jura ban hiking off authorised routes?Ibex
From 15 December to 30 June From 15 December to 30 June. This order, revised in 2019, protects five forests in the Jura department, the habitat of the capercaillie. Over the same period, bringing dogs in is strictly forbidden, and from 1 July to 14 December they must be kept on a lead.
During which period does the order of 16 March 1955 require dogs to be on a lead in woods and forests?Ibex
From 15 April to 30 June From 15 April to 30 June, away from forest paths, to protect nesting birds in spring.
Beyond what distance from its owner is a dog considered to be straying?Ibex
A hundred metres A hundred metres, or as soon as it is out of earshot. This is article L211-23 of the French Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.
Since which year has the ibex no longer been hunted in France?Ptarmigan
1962 1962. That is one reason it is not very shy today, with a much shorter flight distance than the chamois.
Where these figures come from
The data on winter disturbance come from the learning booklet on wildlife's difficulties in winter, designed by Sempervirens and Belledonne en Marche. The reserve's rules come from the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve (in French), those for the high-altitude forests from the biotope protection order of 27 May 2019, and the rules on dogs from the order of 16 March 1955 and article L211-23 of the French Rural Code.
To go further, the article Can you take your dog hiking in the Haute Chaîne du Jura? details the rules, and Wildlife and plants of the Haute Chaîne du Jura presents the species.
And if you would rather see all this in the field than on a screen, guided hikes are planned in the morning according to snow depth and temperature, precisely to avoid the most sensitive areas.