recognisable from a distance for its enormous backward-curving ribbed horns, which can grow almost to one metre in length on males, double that of the females. Well established and protected these days, they now number a record 5300, in contrast to the 300 reported by Yeld and Coolidge in 1893 and the 400 survivors after World War II. Males live between nine and eleven years and weigh on average 95 to 100kg. Females are smaller at around 65 to 70kg. It was the original Gran Paradiso stock that successfully repopulated the whole of alpine Europe.
Male ibex grazing
For guaranteed ibex viewing, try the immediate surroundings of Rifugio Vittorio Sella in Valnontey. There on a typical late summer's evening the young males are silhouetted on high ridges clashing horns in mock battle in preparation for the December mating season. (In December it is anything but pretend with the females only on heat for 24 hours.) Meanwhile sedate older males graze unperturbed, ignoring onlookers, some distance from small herds of timid females with their young. High rocky terrain acts as a stage for their unbelievable acrobatic displays, although they shift around in search of grass and can even be seen on valley floors in spring. In midwinter the herds retreat to high altitudes, carefully choosing south-facing slopes to increase the chances of snow slipping downhill and revealing the vegetation they need to feed on.
Chamois, on the other hand, Rupicapra rupicapra, can also be seen in woods as well as the high rocky outcrops. Another type of mountain goat, the chamois is slender and daintier than the ibex, with shorter hooked horns and white patches on its face and rear. A recent count recorded 7700 chamois in the park. Their principal predators are foxes and eagles but long snowy winters take the greatest toll on both the ibex and the chamois populations. Walkers of either sex may be surprised to hear reticent lone males whistling at them to mark their territory.
Baby marmot
It is hard to miss hearing the European alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) with its shrill whistle warning of imminent danger or seeing a well-padded rear scampering over grassy hillocks towards its burrow. These comical beaver-like vegetarians live in large underground colonies and 8000–10,000 were reported at the last count. Protected now, they were once hunted for their fat, used in ointments believed to be a cure for rheumatism. The belief was unfounded, however, and the practice seemingly arose from a linguistic misunderstanding: the real ‘marmot oil’ for treating aches and pains actually comes from the so-called marmot plum or Briançon apricot, whose yellow stones produced an oil helpful in extracting the active ingredients from rhododendron galls.
Red foxes may be of little interest to British visitors, but the easiest way to spot one of these pretty creatures is to wait outside a refuge at nightfall, as the scavengers come for titbits in the rubbish.
A sizeable carnivore currently returning gradually westward through the Alps is the mysterious lynx. Sightings of the tufted-ear feline with grey-brown mottled fur have already been reported by hunters and rangers in Valle d'Aosta, where it prefers the shelter of low altitude woods, the habitat of its favourite prey, the roe deer. (It is also known to hunt old ibex who are slower on their feet.)
Another recent but unwelcome arrival is the wild boar. Not a native here it was introduced to populate hunting reserves and has bred so successfully that it is becoming a nuisance, wreaking havoc in the chestnut woods. So numerous have they become in Valle Soana that the park rangers have to spend valuable time hunting them down.
There are also several amphibians to spot in the park. The common frog is renowned for its ability to spend winters frozen into ponds up to altitudes of 2500m, thawing back to life with the arrival of spring. On dry southern hillsides around 1500m the bright emerald sheen of the green lizard is hard to miss, while several varieties of snake are occasionally glimpsed, usually sunning themselves on paths or old stone walls. The most common is the poisonous and protected asp viper (no relation at all to the Egyptian cobra!). This greyish-brown snake has a clear diamond pattern along its back and is slightly smaller than the common viper found in Britain. It is always featured on the helpful posters in tourist offices, visitor centres and refuges. Extremely timid, it only attacks when threatened, so do give it time to slither away should you encounter one on the path.
Chamois at pasture
Elementary precautions walkers can take are to keep their legs covered when traversing an overgrown zone, and tread heavily. Should someone be bitten, keep calm and seek medical help as soon as possible. Bandaging and immobilisation of the limb are usually recommended in the meantime. Remember that you do have about 30 hours' leeway, and if there is no swelling after two hours, it either means that no venom entered the bloodstream or that it wasn't a viper at all.
Birds and insects
Higher up glide ubiquitous flocks of chaotic noisy orange-beaked crows, more correctly known as alpine choughs. Great chatty socialisers, they appear out of nowhere at strategic cols at the rustling of a plastic bag in the sure knowledge that they will be fed by walkers' crumbs. Their only equals in noise production are the raucous European jays, which flash blue feathers on their dashes through the mixed woods lower down.
Impressive shadows may be cast by golden eagles, who have a field day in spring and summer preying on young marmots and lambs, the scarcity of vegetation making it easy for them. The only competition in terms of territory comes from the largest bird in the Alps, the lammergeier or bearded vulture. Not a hunter itself, it prefers carcasses. It is able to swallow bones up to 30cm in length (digestion then requiring 24 hours!), and is renowned for its ability to crack bones by dropping them from a great height to get to the marrow. With a maximum wing span of three metres, its wedge-shaped tail distinguishes it from the eagle, whose tail is rounded when seen from below. The reintroduction of vultures born in captivity took off in 1986 in Austria and then spread to other parts of the Alps (1994 saw the first actual release in Italy) and sightings are now a frequent occurrence. Otherwise an impressive stuffed specimen is on display at the Chavaney (Val di Rhêmes) Park Visitor Centre.
Other fascinating spectacles are offered by brilliant clouds of butterflies which vie for supremacy in brightness – notably the metallic hues of the common blue Icarus butterfly which passing walkers cause to flutter up from their puddles. Perching on a thistle, you may also find the rare Red Apollo, pale grey-cream but with trademark black and red ‘eyes’ on its wings.
Last but not least, mention must be made of the so-called glacier flea, large numbers of which form widespread dark patches on the surface of glaciers and snow fields up to 3800m. It is one to two millimetres long, hairy or scaly, mottled brown and feeds on organic matter such as pollen carried up by the wind. Alternatively red-tinted snow may either mean sand from a far-off desert, incredible though it may seem, or cold-loving algae with a blood-red colouring.
Vegetation
An excellent place to begin admiring the remarkable array of alpine plants is the attractive 10,000m2 Giardino Botanico Alpino ‘Paradisia’ in Valnontey, established in 1955 and named after the St Bruno lily Paradisia liliastrum. Over the summer 1000 labelled alpine species flourish there and of these a good 250 are found wild in the park.
The relatively limited woods are composed mainly of mixed conifer, dominated by larch and Arolla pine on the upper edge, along with juniper shrubs. Common are curious dwarf versions of trees such as the net-leaved willow and ice-age relict dwarf birch. Larch woods also share their habitat with alpenrose shrubs and their pretty pink blooms, as well as wine-red martagon lilies and the minute flowers produced by bilberry and cowberry plants, in preparation for their late-summer fruit.
