452 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



of a Chamois, while its scent is much weaker; the 

 faculty of hearing is excellent, the mental capacity 

 is probably on a level with that of the Goats in gen- 

 eral. The Ibex proves its sagacity by the judicious 

 selection of its haunts and walks, by its calculating 

 caution, skillful avoidance of danger and easy resig- 

 nation to altered circumstances. 



In quiet, elevated valleys the Ibex feeds in the 

 forenoon and afternoon; in regions where it fears 

 molestation it selects as its meal-times the hours of 

 dawn and twilight and perhaps the night. Its food 

 consists of the juicy, delicate Alpine herbs, grass, 

 buds of trees; leaves and tips of branches, especially 

 varieties of fennel and wormwood, thyme, the buds 

 and branches of the dwarf-birch, birches, Alpine 

 roses, gentian and in winter also dry grass and moss. 



Propagation Usually at the end of June or at the 

 of the beginning of July the females give 



Ibex. birth to one or two young, equaling 



newborn kids in size. A few hours after birth the 

 little creatures prove themselves to be nearly as 

 bold mountain-climbers as their mother. She loves 

 her young exceedingly, licks them clean, guides 

 them, talks to them, through the medium of her 

 kind bleating calls them, keeps hidden with them 

 in caverns while she suckles them, and never leaves 

 them unless the greatest danger threatens her, and 

 she must save her own life, without which that of 

 her infant would also be lost. In such a case she 

 runs along dizzy precipices and seeks safety in rocky 

 crevices and crannies. The kids, however, very 

 adroitly conceal themselves behind stones and in 

 holes, lying quite still and motionless, looking, list- 

 ening, sniffing in all directions. The gray fur of 

 the young Ibex is so similar in coloration to the 

 rocks and earthy matter surrounding it that the 

 keenest Falcon's eye could not discern it and dis- 

 tinguish it from the rock, which thus takes a mother's 

 place and shelters it for the time being. Large birds 

 of prey, especially the Golden Eagle and perhaps 

 also the Golden Vulture, are a menace to the safety 

 of young kids, but owing to the mother's vigilance, 

 they probably are rarely successful in their attempts 

 to seize her young. The older animals are probably 

 preyed upon by the Lynx, Wolf and Bear. More 

 fatal than all these foes combined are the severe 

 climate and the accidents concomitant with the 

 inhospitable nature of their haunts in winter and 

 spring. But the worst foe of the Ibex is Man, 

 especially the poacher. Probably no more difficult 

 and dangerous undertaking can be conceived than 

 the Ibex hunt as conducted by a poacher. All that 

 can be said of the dangers of a Chamois hunt ob- 

 tains in this instance only in a higher measure. On 

 account of the scarcity of the game, the hunter must 

 be prepared to live from eight to fourteen days far 

 away from all human habitations, braving the perils 

 of outdoor life in the high mountains; he must en- 

 dure frost, snow, hunger, thirst, fog and storm, often 

 spend several nights on a hard rock, without shelter 

 from the ice-cold wind, and very often he has to 

 return home empty-handed after many trials of his 

 patience. In the event of the most favorable result 

 he must shun all frequented paths with his dearly 

 bought prize, in order to avoid detection by the 

 forest guards; he must be able to walk the edges of 

 the most frightful precipices without dizziness, and 

 have strength to carry heavy burdens in order to be 

 able to convey the reward of his efforts home at all. 

 Thus it happens but too often that he brings pov- 

 erty and misery into his hut instead of the carcass 



of his game, not to speak of the fact that he daily 

 runs the risk of falling into an abyss and being 

 dashed to pieces, or of ending his life by the bullet 

 of a guard. 



Ibexes Very Sus- Bouquetins taken young, as a rule, 

 ceptible of Do- thrive well, if they are given a Goat 

 mestication. as wet-nurse. They soon become 

 tame, though they lose this quality with advancing 

 age. They are as full of curiosity, fun and frolic as 

 kids of other species, and so playful and droll that 

 they can not but amuse the observer. They make 

 friends with their foster-mother in a few days, and 

 with their keeper after some time, distinguishing him 

 from other people and showing much joy if they see 

 him again after a prolonged separation. They are 

 highly susceptible to caresses, but do not brook any 

 violence, and defiantly and most amusingly resist 

 even their keepers attempting to move their heads 

 by means of their short horns. If scratched between 

 the horns, they remain as motionless as Lambs, but 

 not infrequently requite such benefits by a thrust of 

 the head meant in play but not always devoid of 

 painful results. The older they grow, the more self- 

 conscious and presumptuous do they become. 

 Stories of a Bernese There are some difficulties and un- 

 Halfbred pleasant consequences in the way of 



Ibex. letting crosses between the Ibex and 



domestic Goat run free. This was proven by the 

 result of experiments made at Berne about seventy 

 years ago. The Bouquetins and their hybrid off- 

 spring were turned loose on part of the ramparts of 

 the town, where they received their food and propa- 

 gated themselves in the desired manner. But the 

 half-bloods, as well as the Bouquetins themselves, 

 soon forgot all the benefits received and finally dis- 

 played neither affection for, nor fear of, Man. One 

 hybrid male found great pleasure in attacking a sen- 

 tinel on the ramparts, and displayed a perseverance 

 in this occupation, which soon caused him to be- 

 come highly unpopular. Once he interrupted the 

 observations of the astronomer working in his tower 

 and tore his coat-sleeve. Later he amused himself 

 by joining the promenades of honest citizens, and 

 causing the people to flee before him. Finally he 

 bethought himself of mounting on the roofs of 

 houses and demolishing the bricks of the chimneys. 

 Numerous complaints were lodged against him, and 

 the wise and mighty city government was obliged to 

 respond to them; the mischievous buck was solemnly 

 banished and transported to a mountain near Unter- 

 seen, together with his female Goats. The latter 

 soon became accustomed to their allotted heights 

 but the buck preferred the inhabited parts of the 

 mountain to the proximity of glaciers. He began 

 by visiting the huts on the Alps, and he there struck 

 up a closer friendship with the domestic Goats of the 

 vicinity than was agreeable to the Goat herds, and 

 finally became so regular and importunate a visitor 

 that he could not be driven away, as he made very 

 free use of his horns. 



Such deeds of violence and various other pranks 

 at last made his removal imperative. The task of 

 taking him higher up in the mountain to the Saxe- 

 tenthal devolved on four strong Men. The wild 

 creature was fastened to a strong rope, and he suc- 

 ceeded more than once in throwing all his leaders 

 to the ground. Then a strong Chamois hunter un- 

 dertook the supervision of the intended Bouquetin 

 removal. He also had a hard time of it, for the buck- 

 seemed to be utterly devoid of gratitude. Once he 

 challenged his guardian to a duel, the Man being 



