Alpine ibex

Special Swiss stamp

In 2006, Switzerland commemorates a very special anniversary - it's a hundred years since the Alpine ibex returned to this country after having been exterminated in previous centuries, and Swiss Post is dedicating a special stamp to this event.

Centenary of the reintroduction of the ibex

On 22 June 1906, a poacher called Joseph Bérard brought two Alpine ibex to St. Gall, kids he had caught illegally in the Aosta Valley, where the last few remaining ibex still survived. The young ibex had been stolen from the royal hunting grounds, following fruitless attempts to obtain them legally, and were initially kept in the Peter and Paul Game Park.
The systematic acquisition and breeding of pure-bred animals then began in St. Gall. That was the start of the successful reintroduction of the ibex into the Swiss Alps and it was one of the most successful biological experiments in the wild anywhere in the world.

Alpine Ibex 2006

The sponsors of Alpine Ibex 2006 are five national organizations that have made a major contribution to the reintroduction of the Alpine ibex over the last 130 years: the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape, Swiss hunters, Pro Natura, the Swiss Alpine Club and Zooschweiz. Representatives of all these institutions have in different ways made possible the acquisition of Alpine ibex from Italy, their breeding and release, protection from poachers as well as their collection in free-range colonies and transfer to other areas.

Stamps in detail

Issue: Switzerland, 7 March 2006
Printing: offset by Cartor Security Printing, La Loupe, France
Stamp sizes: 32.5 x 40 mm
Perforation: 13.25 x 12.75
Design: Robert Cavegn, Chur

More information

Stamps Switzerland
Postage Stamps 2006
Swiss Christmas Customs 2005
Swiss Papal Guard
Pro juventute 2005
New UPU official stamp