Photos: Wolves at the door, Alpine shepherd can’t imagine any other life | Hindustan Times
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Photos: Wolves at the door, Alpine shepherd can’t imagine any other life

Updated On Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

French shepherd Gaetan Meme’s kingdom from June to October are the green velvet mountains dotted with rocky outcrops between the Belledonne massif and the Maurienne valley, an idyllic playground for hikers. It's a magnificent backdrop that can quickly reveal a dark side when you have to look after 1,300 vulnerable animals. The 24-year-old sleeps fully dressed, dreading a midnight wolf attack on the flock of sheep penned in close by his high altitude hut.

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French shepherd Gaetan Meme, 24, herds a flock of sheep in the mountains near the Col du Glandon, in the French Alps. He sleeps fully dressed, dreading a midnight wolf attack on the flock of sheep penned in close by his hut, high up in the Alps. The green velvet mountains dotted with rocky outcrops between the Belledonne massif and the Maurienne valley, an idyllic playground for hikers, are his kingdom from June to October. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

French shepherd Gaetan Meme, 24, herds a flock of sheep in the mountains near the Col du Glandon, in the French Alps. He sleeps fully dressed, dreading a midnight wolf attack on the flock of sheep penned in close by his hut, high up in the Alps. The green velvet mountains dotted with rocky outcrops between the Belledonne massif and the Maurienne valley, an idyllic playground for hikers, are his kingdom from June to October. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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“The fears of last year came back,” says Meme, after his third season of transhumance, the timeless tradition of guiding livestock up into the rich alpine pastures to graze and staying with them. “When my first sheep was killed I immediately felt that I had failed, that I had not carried out my duty,” Meme says gravely of the 2016 attack, which has haunted him ever since. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

“The fears of last year came back,” says Meme, after his third season of transhumance, the timeless tradition of guiding livestock up into the rich alpine pastures to graze and staying with them. “When my first sheep was killed I immediately felt that I had failed, that I had not carried out my duty,” Meme says gravely of the 2016 attack, which has haunted him ever since. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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He looks over a flock of sheep as the weather turns stormy. It’s a magnificent backdrop that can quickly reveal a dark side when you have to look after 1,300 vulnerable animals. From the start of his first season, the 24-year-old shepherd found himself face to face with the wolf, trying to fight it off. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

He looks over a flock of sheep as the weather turns stormy. It’s a magnificent backdrop that can quickly reveal a dark side when you have to look after 1,300 vulnerable animals. From the start of his first season, the 24-year-old shepherd found himself face to face with the wolf, trying to fight it off. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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A sculpture made with sheep bones and old clothes by Meme, is pictured near his altitude hut. To beat the wolves, you have to throw them off the track, he says. Move the penned area, make plenty of noise, light a fire, and make scarecrows-- all can help. He put some fur from the female dog on the nearby scarecrow, to give it a smell. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

A sculpture made with sheep bones and old clothes by Meme, is pictured near his altitude hut. To beat the wolves, you have to throw them off the track, he says. Move the penned area, make plenty of noise, light a fire, and make scarecrows-- all can help. He put some fur from the female dog on the nearby scarecrow, to give it a smell. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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Meme carries a young sheep to guide its mother to safety. Like him there are about 1,000 shepherds left in France today. The life of solitary still attracts plenty of youngsters seeking a change, but few stay on beyond a couple of seasons. For him, the job is a lifetime vocation. “I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” he says. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Meme carries a young sheep to guide its mother to safety. Like him there are about 1,000 shepherds left in France today. The life of solitary still attracts plenty of youngsters seeking a change, but few stay on beyond a couple of seasons. For him, the job is a lifetime vocation. “I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” he says. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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Black hair and green eyes, dressed in thick corduroy trousers, a sleeveless jacket and lumberjack shirt, 24-year-old looks every inch a shepherd. Every other morning, before releasing the sheep, he spreads salt over the rocks. The flock charges after the salt, making a thunderous noise full of bells and bleating. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Black hair and green eyes, dressed in thick corduroy trousers, a sleeveless jacket and lumberjack shirt, 24-year-old looks every inch a shepherd. Every other morning, before releasing the sheep, he spreads salt over the rocks. The flock charges after the salt, making a thunderous noise full of bells and bleating. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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Meme writes in his logbook in his altitude hut. Up at 2,000 metres above the little village of Saint-Colomban-des-Villards in the Savoy region, the shepherd’s biggest concern is fog when “the ewes spread out” and become lost. And they do not like rain. They get cold and their fleece soaks up the water. If there’s no shelter, they halt and “stand with their rear facing the wind” until it’s over. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Meme writes in his logbook in his altitude hut. Up at 2,000 metres above the little village of Saint-Colomban-des-Villards in the Savoy region, the shepherd’s biggest concern is fog when “the ewes spread out” and become lost. And they do not like rain. They get cold and their fleece soaks up the water. If there’s no shelter, they halt and “stand with their rear facing the wind” until it’s over. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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Meme plays with one of his dogs in front of his hut. He follows the sheep where they like to graze, helped by three dogs. It involves a lot of walking without really going anywhere. “I’m a nomad who goes nowhere,” he laughs. “I know only the pasture. Not what lies above or round the side.” (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Meme plays with one of his dogs in front of his hut. He follows the sheep where they like to graze, helped by three dogs. It involves a lot of walking without really going anywhere. “I’m a nomad who goes nowhere,” he laughs. “I know only the pasture. Not what lies above or round the side.” (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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French shepherd prepares for his last day of the season of pastures. Today, it takes him a month to re-adjust to city life when he moves back to Angers, in western France, in October. But he admits it only takes a couple of days to acclimatise when he climbs the meadows in spring. “Being with yourself, which many people run from, is exactly what I look for,” says Meme. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

French shepherd prepares for his last day of the season of pastures. Today, it takes him a month to re-adjust to city life when he moves back to Angers, in western France, in October. But he admits it only takes a couple of days to acclimatise when he climbs the meadows in spring. “Being with yourself, which many people run from, is exactly what I look for,” says Meme. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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Meme prepares to injection a ewe after her leg caught between two rocks and badly fractured. She is too heavy to be carried back and too injured to keep up with the flock, so spends the night alone. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

Meme prepares to injection a ewe after her leg caught between two rocks and badly fractured. She is too heavy to be carried back and too injured to keep up with the flock, so spends the night alone. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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A cross and skulls of dead sheep are pictured, in Alpine pastures. And as in a cruel fairy tale ending, the big bad wolf passes by several days later and gobbles up the stricken sheep. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP) expand-icon View Photos in a new improved layout
Updated on Nov 15, 2018 09:57 AM IST

A cross and skulls of dead sheep are pictured, in Alpine pastures. And as in a cruel fairy tale ending, the big bad wolf passes by several days later and gobbles up the stricken sheep. (Jeff Pachoud / AFP)

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