Flora & Fauna Kategorien: Animals FLORA & Fauna Taxonomy

It is no mere coincidence that the nutcracker was chosen as the logo for the National Park.
Nutcrackers feed on the seeds of the cembra pine, which they extract from the …

More than any other animal, wolves figure in a large number of tales.
Who has not heard of Grimm’s Fairy Tales? As children we were all told the story of Little …

This butterfly is found in alpine meadows between 900 and 2500m altitude and occurs frequently throughout the Alps.
The caterpillar is dark green and has a narrow, white line along its …

Grass frogs live in various different habitats: woods, meadows and alpine pastures up to the snow limit.
In spring the wetlands of the National Park resound to the croaking of grass …

The golden eagle narrowly escaped extinction.
Originally distributed throughout Central Europe, the golden eagle was hunted by man for generations, reaching its lowest point at the beginning of the 20th …

These inconspicious little animals are real survivors!
In Switzerland snow voles live above 1000m altitude. They have even been seen as high as 4000m altitude and above.
Snow voles live in rock …

Who can imagine nowadays that the ibex was once regarded as a wandering medicine chest, hence its extermination?

By 1650, the ibex had been exterminated in Graubünden. Its lack of fear …

The lynx was no luckier than the wolf and the bear.
During the 19th century the lynx was exterminated in Switzerland. Strictly carnivorous, the lynx was previously considered by man to …

Wood ants are an indication of an intact woodland ecological community.
Wood ants entered the Swiss political scene in 1966, when they were first listed as a protected species according to …

The little common lizard is relatively tame and is the only kind of lizard found in the National Park.
Due to its small size and brownish colouring the common lizard often …

Hardly any bird in the National Park has awakened so much interest as the bearded vulture.

The bearded vulture became extinct in the Alps during the 19th century. Previously thought, erroneously, …

This agile climber and busy gatherer is common in our coniferous forests.
The squirrel builds a ball-shaped nest. When food is abundant it stores provisions in hidden places. Little heaps of …

The red deer is the largest ungulate in the National Park. In the middle of the 19th century these magnificent animals had been eradicated from the region. 50 years later …

Until their extinction, brown bears lived in our forests for thousands of years.
In 1904 the last indigenous bear in Switzerland was shot by two hunters, Jon Sarott Bischoff and Padruot …

The Northern viper, measuring up to 60cm, is the only snake present in the National Park.
As its habitat it favours damp meadows, the sunny edges of forests and boulder fields …

The mountain hare is well adapted to the cold.
Mountain hares are, unlike field hares, common in the National Park. They bear the typical characteristics of alpine animals: sturdy build, broad …

The chamois is the only animal that has never become extinct or been exterminated in the National Park.

The need to protect the chamois was one of the main arguments for …

The ptarmigan is the only bird that lives above the treeline in winter.
The ptarmigan overcomes the problem of energy loss in winter by eating large quantities within a short time, …

Marmots are steppe animals.
In the Alps, marmots live in alpine meadows and subalpine grassland. In this rather open terrain they are naturally dependent on their burrows to protect them from …

With the disappearance of the wolf, lynx and bear, the fox has become the largest predator in the National Park.
Like the stone marten, the fox is widely distributed in the …