Forêt de Mercoire et premières attaques de la Bête du Gévaudan

Cheylard-l'Évêque (près de Langogne)

On the granite plateau of the Margeride, the forest of Mercoire covers about 11,000 hectares, between 970 and 1,503 metres. This is where the Allier and the Chassezac rise. According to Wikipedia EN, the first known attack of the Beast of Gévaudan took place in early summer 1764: a young shepherdess was minding her animals in this forest, near Langogne, when the animal approached; the bulls of her herd drove it off. On 30 June 1764 Jeanne Boulet, 14, was killed near Les Hubacs and became the first official victim. Between 1764 and 1767 the Beast claimed many victims; a 1987 study counts 113 dead, other sources 60 to 100. Louis XV sent his hunters. According to the tradition reported, Jean Chastel shot it on 19 June 1767 on the slopes of Mont Mouchet, during a drive led by the marquis d'Apcher. What the animal was is still not known. In the heart of the forest, the former Cistercian abbey of Mercoire is now a farm. The pages do not agree on the place of the first attack: the tourist-office sheet simply says that the victims fell ‘in this forest’.

Getting there: Forest open all year, with no paid access; GR 70, GR 470, hiking, mountain-bike and horse-riding trails (Tourisme Occitanie). Coordinates from the tourist-office sheet (44.6364; 3.8018); Wikipédia FR places the centre of the forest a little further south-west (44.6167; 3.7833). No photo retained: Commons has no category for the forest (candidates: categories Mercoire Abbey and Moure de la Gardille, which show the abbey or the summit).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound