A Goateed Ibex? – the Curious Case of "Fridolin"

Strange stories are told about ibexes. The ibex is adopted as a heraldic animal of the territory that today is known as Graubünden as early as approximately 800 years ago. However, less than 400 years later, around 1650, the animal has disappeared. Its lack of shyness and the alleged healing properties of ibex preparations led to its extinction.

Around 200 years later, repeated attempts were made to reintroduce the animal to Switzerland; including crossbreeding ibexes with domestic goats. However, the first successes were achieved no earlier than the beginning of the 20th century, with the smuggling of ibexes from the Kingdom of Italy.

Today, there are approximately 7000 male (bucks) and female (does) ibexes in Graubünden. Fridolin, a hybrid of an ibex and a domestic goat, is no longer alive. However, at least the animal, which was born in the Val Calanca in 1983, lived to be eleven years old. The Bündner Naturmuseum paid for the animal's upkeep for the duration. Today, Fridolin is on display in the Bündner Naturmuseum as a taxidermy specimen – including his goatee and ibex’s horns.