However tired it gets, the Pyrenean Sheepdog never stops protecting its flock. When there are wolves about, the sheepdog’s watchful eye can mean the difference between life and death. | Image: Tristan de Soye

The fur and wool blend in to leave a single whole. But within the sea of fleece there is one silhouette that stands out. Its head is raised, its eyes open and its attention focused. This guardian is a patou, or Pyrenean Sheepdog. It’s been welcomed into this family of sheep, goats and ewes. It’s been a trying night for the animals, often attacked by wolves. So far, the 13 watchdogs have repelled their assailants and protected the flock, but it’s left them feeling tired.

This image depicts a moment in the life of a flock out to pasture above the village of Argentière, in Haut-Savoie in July 2023. The three shepherds and their dogs herd 80 animals across the pastures which intersect with the territory of wolves. Claire Gallini d’Istria, an anthropologist educated at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, caught up with them just in time for her son, the photographer Tristan de Soye, to memorialise the scene. “The patou can come across as aggressive, not very friendly when it’s working as a guardian”, she says. “But I felt such empathy for him when we saw him, exhausted, continuously keeping an eye out for wolves”.

“In Europe, the wolf is the last remaining symbol of the wild. It reminds us of a specific view of nature and of our own wildness”.Claire Galloni d’Istria

Galloni d’Istria is researching the social, economic and political impact of the reintroduction of wolves in Valais and Haute-Savoie. This photo, which she submitted to the 2024 SNSF Scientific Image Competition, is part of her ethnographic research making up her doctoral thesis. “In Europe, the wolf is the last remaining symbol of the wild. It reminds us of a specific view of nature and of our own wildness”, she says. She underlines the ambiguity of humans towards the animal. “The wolf serves as a guide. We domesticated it in the form of the dog for company. But, at the same time, it’s seen as a threat, despite talk about wanting to protect it”.

This ambivalence is found even on Alpine slopes, where we now use dogs to combat wolves, even though they’re the same species. It’s clear from this photo, however, that the patou is loyal to its adopted family.

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