The White Stork
Napoleon dries out the wetlands which would be the cause of the disappearance of species such as the Stork
In 1974, the White Stork was on the verge of extinction. France is home to only 11 breeding pairs, including 9 in Alsace. Thanks to the actions coordinated by the LPO (installation of artificial platforms in particular), our country now has more than 1,900 pairs, including 320 in Charente-Maritime (2011), which makes it the second French department after Haut -Rhine (341 pairs). The Alsatian population, which numbered 177 pairs in 1947, suffered a rapid decline from 1961 (118 pairs) reaching the threshold of extinction in 1974 (9 pairs). At that time, France only had 11 breeding pairs: one in Ille-et-Vilaine, one in Manche and 9 in Alsace.
The decline of the French population, more generally of Western Europe, would be mainly due to a fall in the annual survival rate of adults, following the severe Sahelian droughts. Other causes are mentioned such as electrocutions on overhead power lines and above all significant mortality due to hunting, particularly in African wintering grounds, and particularly in Mali. In this country, ornithologists from the LPO observe that the number of birds taken can reach more than 700 per year.