Chamois

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Fauna > Chamois       - by Provence Beyond

Name (Latin): rupis = cliff; capra = goat.
This mountain antelope is known as chamois in English and in French, in the Alpes. In the Pyrénées it's called Isard, although there is little difference between the two. On the Spanish side of the Pyrénées it's called rebeco, sarrio, or isard.

Chamois are diurnal, but they feed at night if there is enough moonlight, and they rest in the middle of the day. We've often seen them early- and mid-morning while hiking through forested areas on steep slopes; on trails traversing the slopes, we keep a watch above and below the trail. There's a story about Chamois in Beyond's page for the Mercantour National Park, where chamois are often seen.

Habitat

Lives in mountain pastures and rocky areas of the Alps above the tree line, to 3500 m. In the winter they descend down as low as 800 m, into the forests or to open slopes cleaned of snow by the wind.

Photos

These three black-&-white photographs were taken on the Italian side of the mountains, in the reserve Grand Paradis, and contributed by Yves Jacquet. Our own more recent photos (listed at the top of the page) were taken in the Mercantour National Park.