Wild Pyrenees

In autumn, the sky in the Pyrenees seems almost within reach. The air is clear, and the view from the Pic du Midi in France stretches far beyond the main ridge of the mountain range all the way to Spain. Each peak is more beautiful than the next. Red deer vie for hinds, and bears roam the colourful valleys in search of food before retreating to a cave for the winter. The rare bearded vultures are now in courtship mode, searching for nests for the next breeding season. Every autumn, numerous bird lovers and ornithologists from all over France travel to the region to observe a very special spectacle: the bird migration over the Pyrenees.

Metres of snow lie deep in the wintry Pyrenees, burying everything beneath it. It's bitterly cold, and food is now scarce for everyone. Animals that don't hibernate are fighting for survival. Chamois search the valleys for the last edible morsels. Wolves undertake long journeys in search of prey. The outlook for the bearded vultures is also bleak: The carcasses, and especially their bones, on which the scavengers primarily feed, are buried under the snow. Spanish bird conservationists have therefore set up feeding stations for the bearded vultures in the Pyrenees. The food has to be carried up to icy heights on foot. From mid-February, the first signs of spring reach the Pyrenees.

When God created the Pyrenees, it is said that he shaped the rocks so they could drink in the light during the day. After sunset, they radiate it back into the world, and so the walls and pinnacles glow silently under the stars at night. The sun and clouds play with the light from the mountains, painting fascinating pictures. The Mediterranean climate transforms the alpine pastures into a sea of ​​flowers and ensures an extremely diverse wildlife. In the Cirque de Gavarnie, an imposing rocky cirque on the French side, marmots raise their young. Bears roam the Catalan Aran Valley. Bearded vultures patrol vast territories in the mountain wilderness every day, searching for carrion. If they find a bone, they carry it to great heights and then drop it.