Alpine Ibex: A Conservation Success Story!

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Kathryn Pintus, IUCN , "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 4) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 4. Verbatim.

The alpine ibex is endemic to Europe, and this once abundant species used to roam freely across the Alps of France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and northern Italy.

However, as a result of intensive hunting practices, the alpine ibex was nearly driven to extinction in the early nineteenth century, with just a few hundred individuals remaining, all of which werefound in the Gran Paradiso massif in Italy.

Thanks to targeted conservation efforts, which included reintroductions to parts of its native range as well as introductions to Slovenia and Bulgaria, the alpine ibex is now listed as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a population of about 30 000 individuals recorded in the 1990s.

This species is not completely out of harm’s way yet, though, as without continued efforts to protect its habitat, prevent poaching and reduce the impacts of human disturbance, it is likely to fall into a decline once again. The alpine ibex is thankfully not the only species that has been brought back from the brink of extinction, but it is a great example of what can be done to save species when we have the necessary knowledge and means.