Animals of the Lot Valley

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Most of the river’s inhabitants are cautious, and you’ll need to be patient to catch a glimpse of otters, beavers and kingfishers. On the other hand, it’s easier to spot the great grey herons, or the cheerful Rhinolophus bats circling at dusk in the sky over the Vallon de l’Urugne.

#1

The Rhinolophe bat

The Vallon de l’Urugne is one of the main wintering sites for the Greater Rhinolophus bat in Occitanie.

This bat hibernates from September-October to April, and when it wakes up in spring, gathers in large colonies. The female then gives birth to a single young in late spring or early summer. It has a very particular hunting technique, called “affut “: it remains alone, hanging upside down from a branch, waiting for its prey to pass by.

Since 1960, this species of bat has seen its population plummet, due to the brutal degradation of its natural habitat. This is why the Vallon de l’Urugne is now classified as a “Natura 2000 area” and why the species is being monitored.

Discover Rhinolophis bats

#2

The fauna of the River Lot

The river Lot is teeming with fish: brown trout, barbel, chub, gudgeon, veron, vandoise, sculpin… all can be found in the Lot and some of its tributaries, making the Lot Valley an angler’s paradise. You’ll also find crayfish, various species of frogs, gammarids (freshwater shrimp), etc.

Everything the facetious otter likes to eat. Very discreet and mainly nocturnal, the otter is difficult to observe, and you have to be lucky to meet one.

#3

Birds and flying animals

Dragonflies, mayflies and birds fly through the air: majestic grey herons, pretty grey wagtails and river wagtails, elegant yellowlegs, swallows, mallards, diving ducks, kingfishers… big or small, discreet or not, they’re always a sight to behold!