A herd of ibex climb a Swiss dam for an acrobatic picnic
It's a rare sight: a whole herd of ibex climbing the Salanfe dam. You have to be lucky to witness this acrobatic act, during which the animals actually supplement their diet with mineral salts.
“Ibex need mineral salts that they can’t find in their food, especially in winter. So they look for this salt just about everywhere. And as we have a magnificent dam oozing with saltpetre, which contains these mineral salts, they will lick it to restore their health for the summer,” explains Fabienne Marclay, who has been looking after the Salanfe hostel for 29 years.
It’s a fascinating balancing act for the animals: “It’s a great discovery, I didn’t think it was actually possible. I think it’s magical. It’s incredible to see them out in the wild like this,” says a hiker from Neuchâtel.
Outstanding equilibrium
Ibexes owe their ability to balance to the shape of their legs.
“They have two separate toes, with no membrane between them, and under their heel, they have a membrane that acts like a sucker,” describes Marclay.
“It’s quite impressive. As a human being, when you walk at the foot or the top of the dam, it’s really vertiginous. And here, these ibexes are real tightrope walkers, with no fear of heights and quite impressive ease,” commented another photographer.
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