Ibex

In summer, ibex goats and their fawns live separately from the bucks, who fight out their ranking position at this time of year. The ibex mating season – also known as “the rut” – falls during the coldest time of the year: it begins in December and ends in January. The males have a fat content of around 35 kilograms, which they have accumulated over the summer months. This is essential during the mating season, as the focus is now on courting the females: to court them, the kings of the Alps adopt a very special posture: they tilt their heads back, fold their horns on their backs and tilt their tails upwards. To do this, the animals repeatedly stick out their tongues and make a clicking sound with them. In earlier times, the ibex was said to have miraculous healing powers. He was regarded as a “walking pharmacy”. Blood, horns and “trichobezoars” (roundish balls of licked hair lying undigested in the stomach) were used against all kinds of diseases. This is why the ibex was almost wiped out; the last instance originating from Austria in 1712 in the Zillertal Alps. Only around 60 animals survived in the Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy under the protection of the then King Victor Emmanuel II. Starting in Switzerland, Reintroduction efforts were carried out at the beginning of the 20th century using captive-bred animals. Around 35,000 ibex now live in the Alps once more. The Alpenzoo is also contributing to the reintroduction and blood regeneration of the ibex in the Alps with its offspring.