Ibexes: In Search of the King of the Alps

The title of monarch is not protected. Mountain peaks have been called the king of the Alps, as have motorbikes that conquer mountain passes. Even rappers have claimed the title for themselves.

Only on the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, where the Habsburg ruler once enjoyed the view of the Großglockner, is there any question: the ibex is king here. As soon as visitors have spotted Austria’s highest peak and captured it on camera, they go in search of the rare wild animals.

“Where are the ibexes?” According to ranger Georg Granig, that is the second most frequently asked question at the Wilhelm Swarovski Observation Tower, here at the end of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in the Hohe Tauern National Park. And the most common? Well, where the Großglockner is, of course. It’s really hard to miss from here.

On the other hand, if the ibex has gone to sleep behind a steep rock face, even the best binoculars are of no use. “It’s not a zoo, you need a bit of luck,” says Granig right at the beginning of the ibex observation, which started at the Glocknerhaus a little further down the High Alpine Road.

The ranger has probably gotten into the habit of lowering the expectations of his guests right from the start.

The Carinthian hat on his head, binoculars in front of his chest

Georg Granig also looks after sheep as a small-scale miner. This makes his relationship with the mountains particularly intense, and he wants to pass some of that on. He wants to raise awareness for everything that can be discovered here at the end of the High Alpine Road beyond the parking lots and the panorama restaurant in the mountains.

He always has a light tripod in his rucksack, binoculars in front of his chest and his trademark Carinthian hat on his head.

As an education officer, he is on the road all year round Hohe Tauern National Parkthe largest nature reserve in the Alps, which extends to the three federal states of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia.

Sometimes you follow in the footsteps of the first climbers of the Großglockner through the former glacier bed, sometimes you observe tiny beetles and algae in a water-filled hollow. “I want to educate the children to be responsible conservationists,” says the ranger.

When Capricorn was made into a pharmacy

In the past, people didn’t give up on nature conservation – at least as far as the alpine ibex was concerned. It was hunted for centuries and exterminated except for a remnant in Italy.

However, the hunt had less to do with the desire for wild meat than with the myths surrounding the ibex. It used to be thought that the animal with ten-kilo antlers on its head could climb so well and be able to cope in the high mountains all year round. So you wanted to get the magical powers.

From the horn as a fertility bringer to indigestible stomach residue as a remedy for poisoning to the heart muscle as a pendant: Georg Granig talks about all of this on his tours. “In the heart of the ibex, like the deer, there is a bone tissue, the so-called heart cross,” says the ranger. This was considered a sign of a divine connection, which made earthly survival almost impossible for the animal.

It would probably have died out if the Italian king had not recognized the signs of the times and had the remains guarded in order to have them exclusively for himself. And if the Swiss hadn’t managed to kidnap, breed and resell a few specimens.

A herd was released in the national park in 1960 – at Jungfernsprung, a large waterfall not far from Heiligenblut. “The portfolio has developed very quickly,” says Granig.

A quick look at the king of the Alps

Should it not work out during the observation tour with a real encounter with the animal Alpine monarch, the ranger can still do that House of the Capricorns refer to Heiligenblut. “It’s a long-cherished project,” he says. Opened in 2021, it tells the story of the national park and its most famous residents in film, photos and plastic replicas.

From the terrace you have a beautiful view of the parish church of Heiligenblut and the snow-capped Grossglockner towering behind it – a famous postcard motif.

But we don’t have to console ourselves with this dream view on this day, because we’re lucky. Between two protective tunnels at Gamsgrubenwegwhich starts at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, Ranger Granig stands for a while and scans the rock world.

And indeed! He stands between rugged scree, takes a quick look and then trundles away again, back to his invisible throne: the king of the Alps.

Ibexes in the Hohe Tauern

From the mountaineering village of Mallnitz, you can hike through the Hohe Tauern National Park directly across three valleys.

registration under nationalpark-hohetauern.at/nationalpark-erlebnisse or by telephone on 0043 4824 2700

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