Discovering the Rougarou

1. Cajun legend says that the beast hunts down Catholics who don’t follow the rules of Lent
2. Another telling of the story says that the Rougarou is under a 101-day curse, unless the affected person can transfer the curse to another human being. Their curse usually comes from a local witch, sometimes a voodoo priestess.

• Can't count past the number 12
• It is said that you can protect yourself against the Rougarou by laying 13 small objects by your doors
• Apparently, when a person changes into a Rougarou they forget how to count past 12

• Lower Elevation
• Marsh/Swamp Areas
• Low Population Areas

• Cities
• Fire

Has more than 4,000 miles of navigable waterways and 3,260 square miles of river surfaces, land-locked bays and inland lakes

• Lots of land at low enough elevation for Rougarous

• Many heavily forested/swamp areas
• Large Catholic population
• 28% Catholic
• Historically Catholic state

How can we maximize human safety while still protecting the native rougarou safety?

Elevation

Land Cover

• Population Density
• Catholic Churches

NAD 1983 2011 StatePlane Louisiana South FIPS 1702

High resolution LA state shapefile

Louisiana Elevation

Justification: Rougarous are renowned for not being able to count past 12 and getting confused and freezing up if they see things in groups of 13+. Therefore, areas with large population densities with more people per km^2 are less likely to be suitable for Rougarous to live in. Additionally, we were trying to maximize both rougarou population potentials while also protecting humans and therefore it is important to weigh heavily the possible interactions between the two species.

Justification: We weighed land cover the heaviest because habitats with cover, prey, and water. We wanted to prioritize areas of deciduous forest and woody wetlands because they provide plenty of cover to hide, as well as also having optimal prey for the rougarou. Highly developed land and open water are extremely dangerous with little reward, and therefore the least suitable.

Justification: While it would theoretically make sense to weigh churches highest because in many Louisiana legends rougarou are known to prey on Catholics who observe lent, there is a limited Catholic churches data set. In addition the population data tends to encompass churches as well, as areas with large populations naturally tend to have more Catholic churches.

Justification: Rougarous prefer areas of lower elevation. While we believed this was an important factor to consider, if an area is of low enough elevation for it to be a suitable habitat for the rougarou but there is a big city is also located there then it would no longer be a suitable habitat for them. This is why we weighed elevation less than land coverage and population density, because they wouldn't live in an area primarily because it was of low elevation. In addition we have already weighed the land cover data very highly, and there is some overlap between elevation and land cover. This is as swamps and marsh lands generally tend to be found at lower elevations.

This map shows only the areas that were considered suitable and highly suitable in our weighted map

The colors were selected to indicate that the land was a good habitat because these are more forested and less populated/developed areas

Darker Green = Highly Suitable (5)

Lighter Green = Suitable (4)

We recommend that all possible lands that are suitable for rougarou habitation be left aside for rougarous. The reason for this is there are a maximum of 195 rougarous in the state making them a critically endangered species. We must do all that is possible to protect them. In addition many leading experts in the field believe Rougarous are humans, and as a result it would be unethical to kill them. They are also important predators who are vital to the ecosystem of Louisiana as they can eat invasive species and are the only natural predator to the overly populated alligator. 

It would also not be difficult to maintain rougarou habitats as their natural areas tend to be away from human populations. This is shown by the fact rougarous tend to live away from cities and churches and in marsh lands and more forested areas. It is vital to keep human and especially catholic populations away from these regions as rougarou/ human interaction can lead to danger for all involved.