A ringed partridge or pheasant recovered in Cantal only tells its story if the ring number is reported, and that takes a minute. RingFollow never publishes the name of a hunter, an ACCA (approved communal hunting association) or a municipality, nor any count below 3. On the administrative map, department 15 belongs to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region; its prefecture is Aurillac.
Validating recoveries in Cantal
For department 15, no federation uses RingFollow at present. A ring found in Cantal can still be reported: the report is recorded, and it will be validated by a federation, never by GIBIS. The ring number leads back to the original release: if the federation of the department where it took place is registered, it validates; if not, the report waits, filed under department 15.
Reporting a ring found in Cantal
- Open bagues.gibis.fr on your phone and photograph the ring close up, in good light.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 250 in Cantal: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- Pick the species from the list (hare, pheasant, grey partridge and red-legged partridge); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send: with no signal, the report goes out on its own as soon as coverage returns.
Within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
Besides Cantal, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region comprises Drôme, Ain, Loire, Haute-Savoie, Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Allier and Savoie. Three of the 12 departments in the region have their federation on RingFollow: Ain, Isère and Haute-Loire (see the list by region). At 2%, the share of artificial surfaces here is the lowest among the 12 departments of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
After you send it
The report is recorded as soon as it arrives, with the photo and the municipality given. Next comes the matching: does the ring belong to a recorded release? If so, and if that department's federation is registered, it reviews the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Cantal, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. Reports are kept for five hunting seasons after the recovery, then retained only in anonymised form for statistics (see the privacy policy).
Recoveries and reports in Cantal
- No validated recovery has been located in Cantal on RingFollow so far.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- For comparison, all of France: 3,592 ringed birds in 85 releases and 16 validated recoveries (5 participating federations); details on the Statistics page.
What a reported ring is for
Every recovery reported gives a date, a distance and a species. Added together, they give an operation's recovery rate and how far the birds disperse after release: enough to adjust future releases in Cantal.
Further reading
RingFollow tracks rings; breeding, species and restocking are covered on gibis.fr: game birds for restocking and red-legged and grey partridges.
Cantal and its neighbours
Its neighbours are Lot to the south-west, Corrèze to the north-west, Aveyron to the south, Puy-de-Dôme to the north-east, Lozère to the south-east and Haute-Loire to the east. Beyond the regional boundary lie the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitania. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 26% (Lozère) to 59% (Aveyron), against 57% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). Of these, Haute-Loire tracks its rings on RingFollow.
Land and population
Land cover in 2018 (CORINE Land Cover): agricultural areas lead with 57%, followed by forests and semi-natural areas (40%). The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (2%) and water bodies (1%). INSEE counts 250 municipalities and 144,196 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 5,770 km². With population density at about 25 inhabitants per km², the department is in the bottom five of the 96 departments of metropolitan France. Besides Aurillac, the prefecture, the department has two sub-prefectures: Mauriac and Saint-Flour.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Your questions about Cantal
Can I report a ring without a mobile signal in Cantal?
Yes. The form keeps the report on the phone and sends it as soon as coverage returns, wherever you are in Cantal.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Cantal?
A coloured, numbered leg ring, or a numbered coloured plastic wing tag, with no address. A ring engraved with an address belongs to another scheme: the guide explains where to report it.
Why are there no statistics for Cantal?
A department's statistics are only published if its federation tracks its rings on RingFollow and at least 3 releases are recorded there. The Cantal hunters' federation (FDC 15) does not use RingFollow at present.
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Cantal?
No. Name, phone and e-mail are optional; an e-mail address only gets you an acknowledgement. Only the validating federation sees what you leave.
Who validates a recovery reported in Cantal?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Cantal hunters' federation (FDC 15) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
Registering a federation
Hunter or ACCA official in Cantal? You can raise it with your federation. All federations and their situation: Federations.
To get an idea of a department page with its statistics, see the sample page (simulated data).