A picture taken on June 7, 2011 in Hunawihr, eastern France, in a breeding center dedicated to the reintroduction of the specimen, shows a Great Hamster of Alsace. France is failing in its duty to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace, a cute fur-ball facing extinction with fewer than 200 remaining, the advocate-general of Europe's top court said on June 7, 2011, after the European Commission brought the case, arguing that France has not applied European Union law covering protected species. AFP PHOTO