The chestnut covers considerable areas in Prigord, Limousin and Beam; resinotis trees (firs, pines, larches, &c.) form fine forests in the Vosges and The indigenous fauna include the bear, now very rare but still found in the Alps and Pyrenees, the wolf, harbouring chiefly in the Cvennes and Vosges, but in continually decreasing areas; the fox, marten, badger, weasel, otter, the beaver in the extreme south of the Rhne valley, and in the Alps the marmot; the red deer and roe deer are preserved in many of the forests, and the wild boar is found in several districts; the chamois and wild goat survive in the Pyrenees and Alps.
Of existing species the bear, wild-boar, badger, roe-deer and chamois may occasionally be seen in the remotest wilds of mountain and forest.
The roe-buck or roe-deer (Capreolus caprea, or C. capreolus) inhabits southern and temperate Europe as far east as the Caucasus, where, as in Syria, it is probably represented by another race or species.
In size the muskdeer is rather less than the European roe-deer, being about 20 in.
The young seedlings are sometimes nibbled by the hare and rabbit; and on parts of the highland hills both bark and shoots are eaten in the winter by the roe-deer; larch woods should always be fenced in to keep out the hill-cattle, which will browse upon the shoots in spring.
