Ibexes! (Ibices?)

17.10.20, Tierpark Dählholzli - one of the nice things about the zoo in Bern is they have a number of free exhibits as well as the gated park; the swiss native ungulates are among them. The ibex exhibit is particularly odd: it's themed around ibex poaching, with an example ibex trap, a wooden "gun" with sights, and exhibits of ibex products that were the economic drivers of poaching.

The reason for this odd enthusiasm for poaching is that ibexes went extinct in the Swiss Alps and were reintroduced via poaching: when the King of Italy wouldn't give any of "his" ibexes for a breeding program in Switzerland, the Swiss put out a bounty for any poachers who brought them live young. The resulting crop were raised, bred, and used to repopulate the Swiss Alps.

Fwd:

12.7.20: ran late for date in order to inspect this historic funicular cabin. No regrets.