Wild France with Ray Mears — S01E01 — Vanoise National Park

00:00:02 RAY: France...

00:00:45 From deep forest...

00:01:45 up to the very top where the life is sparse and the terrain

00:02:38 resulting from the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.

00:03:35 and important grazing grounds for cattle and goats.

00:04:29 As Winter turns to Spring,

00:05:27 for people producing cheese.

00:06:13 And it has other uses.

00:07:02 RAY: The meadow really is an idyllic setting,

00:07:36 And then there are some... I found quite a lot of medicines.

00:08:26 AUDREY: So it's raw milk. And this one...

00:09:10 The ground gets rougher beneath my feet, and it's tough going.

00:10:06 The horns stop growing in the winter,

00:10:48 their ranking is based on age, size, and strength.

00:12:02 I've been joined by local park ranger Alex Garnier to find out more.

00:13:01 - RAY: It was a hard life. - ALEX: Had a hard life.

00:13:52 in the peak district, so you never know,

00:14:52 This is the tree line, from this point on it becomes incredibly harsh for trees

00:16:00 using this handy camera. Let's have a look at what they are up to.

00:17:12 The ground here is littered with rocks fallen from the steep mountain above.

00:18:42 and one of the things you can see is like this marmot over here

00:20:03 from the small black bristles that grow under its chin.

00:20:58 After predators have feasted and left carcasses on the mountainside,

00:22:16 Mind you, I did have the help of a donkey.