Acorn Hollow Switzerland – June Report

Thursday June 4th, we had the opportunity to hold our second Acorn Hollow activity here in Switzerland.

The purpose of the day was to visit the Alpine Zoo “des Marecottes”. The Alpine Zoo is located near the village of les Marecottes at an altitude 1100 metres, in the middle of forests of firs and of larches. One of the features of this zoo is that all the animals are animals of the Alps. There are not any exotic animals like tigers, lions or elephants.

We can ask questions on the beneficial effects of a zoo. It is true that it is perhaps not “good” to hold wild animals in captivity. But this kind of zoo has contributed and still contributes to the rescue and the reintroduction of several animals in the Alps. And I think that it will still contribute in the future. We can therefore say that it is a necessary evil.

After an hour’s drive, we arrived at the Alpine Zoo. The site where the zoo is located is really splendid. The girls were really thrilled to be able to see these animals.

The first animals we saw were Roe Deer. The Roe Deer is an animal that we see regularly near where we live. They live mainly in forest areas. You can sometimes find some of them in the upper limits of forests, but almost never above.

Just beside the Roe Deer was the Lynx’s enclosure. The Lynx is a predator that has always lived in the Alps. Unfortunately the lynx, an animal almost as hated as the wolf was completely decimated. The last lynx in Switzerland fell under the bullets of a hunter in 1894 at the Weissthor Pass near the Simplon. Today, the Lynx abhorred by many of our ancestors and yet inseparable from our natural heritage is fortunately back among the animals that it is possible to see in our mountains. A lot of work to reintroduce the lynx has been accomplished since 1972 and this despite many objections. Personally I have never seen any Lynx in nature although I have sometimes spotted some traces. The girls were very happy to see these “big cats”.

After the Lynx, we could observe some Red Deer. The Red Deer are not very present on the right bank of the Rhone Valley (where we live), but they are very present on the left bank.

Then the girls could see Alpine marmots. It is an animal very present in the Alps. One can even say that it is one of the symbols of the Alps with the Alpine Ibex and the Edelweiss. This is an animal that is easily observed in nature. I think most people hiking in the Alps have seen or at least heard their alert screams. They are very social mammals living in small family units. The main predators of Alpine marmots are the Golden Eagle and the Red Fox.

Near the Marmot’s enclosure there is a basin who hosts some beavers. The beaver is quite visible in Valais, mainly in the bed of the Rhone river, which crosses the whole of my canton.

Then we could see a boar with several young wild boar. Ethel was really happy to see some “babies”. The boar is an animal very present in our canton. As the boar has no predators, hunters must sometimes operate some regulation to avoid too much damage, especially in the vineyards.

The girls are then able to admire a beautiful Red Fox. Mylene was glad to see “Swiper” (yes she loves Dora the Explorer) for real. The Fox is a very common animal here. For several years we may even see them in the cities. They come for eating garbage. There are plenty of Foxes, too much, says the authorities and unfortunately many are killed each year in order to regulate their number. Hunters even receive a reward for every Red Fox killed.

The girls were then able to admire one of the other symbols of the Alps: the Alpine Ibex. In Valais it is sometimes nicknamed “The King with Big Horns. This nickname is not usurped because I think it’s really a majestic animal. One can easily see if one is willing to walk a little and climb mountains. Yet without the initiative of some enthusiastic, this animal would have completely disappeared from the Swiss Alps. Indeed, the Alpine Ibex of the Swiss Alps were gradually decimated by hunting when the first sophisticated firearms appeared. In 1820, the last Alpine Ibex of Switzerland was killed in Val d’Anniviers. It was the same across the Alps and the Alpine Ibex was eliminated in all the Alps. The few that remained were in a reserve created in Piedmont by King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. He fiercely protected its Alpine Ibex and refused to sell some of them to reintroduce them elsewhere. To reintroduce them in Valais, it was decided to hire some poachers from Valais and from Aosta Valley. Then, these poachers have stolen some Alpine Ibex in the Royal reserve in Piedmont and transported them to reintroduce them in Valais. Thus in 1911, five Alpine Ibex were released in Switzerland. All Swiss Alpine Ibex are the descendants of those who were stolen from King Victor Emmanuel II. Again the relationship between Valais and Aosta Valley are highlighted. Without this thievery, there would be no more Alpine Ibex in Switzerland. And what a pity. It’s a real pleasure to be able to see these beautiful animals. One thing which is absolutely beautiful to see is the fight between two Alpine Ibex during the rut.

Other animals in the zoo and very present in the Alps: the chamois. It is an animal that can also easily see when hiking. It is a very “timid” animal that will scamper fast when it sees you. It’s an animal I see often when I hike, but as Mylene and Ethel are still small and are not able to accompany me in the mountains, she had never seen chamois. She was very impressed to see them jump with agility on steep rocks.

We then saw two animals who had unfortunately completely disappeared from the Alps, but who are slowly reintroduced; the Brown Bear and the Wolf.

The Brown Bear has been totally eradicated in Switzerland. The last Swiss Bear was shot in 1904 in the canton of Graubünden, on the present territory of the Swiss National Park. It is also in the Swiss National Park that some bears have been reintroduced a few years ago. Of course there is great pressure to stop its reintroduction.

The Wolf has also been decimated in Switzerland. Its absence from our Alps is the cause of the relentless hunt our ancestors did for reasons which today are no longer justified, particularly religious … In recent years the wolf is back in our mountains. Unfortunately the pressure is very strong to kill the few specimens that run through our mountains. Several have already been killed with the consent of the government despite the fact that the wolf is a totally protected species. A wolf was sighted not far from my home and inevitably hunters have organized beats under the pretext that they might attack sheep. Fortunately wolves are smarter than our hunters …

Finally we saw three nocturnal birds of prey rather rare and hard to observe in the natural environment: the Eurasian Eagle-owl, the Barn Owl and the Tengmalm’s Owl. It was fantastic to see these wonderful birds, but it’s sad to see them locked up in these small cages.

Thus finished a very good afternoon in the discovery of the animals of our Alps. It was an opportunity to spend some family great time and learn more about the world around us . The girls really enjoyed this afternoon. They were happy to see this animals.

Hail The Creation!
Hail the next generation!
Hail The Rite!

Seb AOR – Edelweiss Hama AOR

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Tags: acorn hollow, animals, Switzerland, Zoo

Category: 2010 Diary