Anybody else interested in wild animals. Any experience, or wonderful sights you'd like to share?
Here in the Jura mountains we have chamois, marmots, ibex and even linx (they were re-introduced in the 70s)- as well as the more 'common' animal like deer, red squirrels (which are in fact brown here), badgers, hares, pine and beech marten, etc. My parents actually saw a linx once - but they are very very hard to see - and I have never seen one.
Today I had the visit of 3 hoby falcons, on their migration south to the Sahara. They made such a racket - has one of them had plucked a great tit feeding in our garden. And we get lots of red kites, peregrines and buzzards. Wonderful. One bird present here in some rare places is the wall creeper, a small grey and red bird which clings to cliffs. Hope to see one one day, at our local nature reserve, Le Creux-du-Van (a stunning spot).
On a recent hike behind our mountain, right off the beaten track, I saw what looked like a black squirrel run across my path and up a tree. I've no idea if it was a squirrel but it certainly looked like one, and it was black!
In the woods near our house, there is a small troop of monkeys that throw hazelnuts and horse chestnuts at hikers and other passers by. The gemeinde wanted to have them gassed, but there was a popular revolt in the village and they were saved.
I don't know how they got there. I don't suppose they're indigenous to Switzerland?
How bizarre. do you know what breed of monkeys they are.
When I lived near the Peak district (central UK) I was told there were quite a few wallabies in the area. They were escapees from a private zoo, and had adapted quite well, thanks to the bracken that gave them protection from the cold in winter. No idea if there are still some survivors?
Squirrels here are very dark brown, smaller than greys, and with very tufty ears. It might have been a pine marten, as they are very dark too, but longer.
I'm not sure. My next door neighbour said something about Inselaffen , but that's not a breed of monkey I recognise.
It's a curious thing: my next door neighbour seems to be obsessed with them, and insists on telling me about them every time he sees me. His face lights up with delight, he shouts something about the monkeys (I can never catch the exact words) and then he gets back to work.
There is some sort of ferret thing that runs around where I live in Geneva. I thought it was a cat but a neighbour swears it is a ferret. I saw it again a couple of nights ago, very low down and moving fast. Not like any of the cats, including mine, who seem rather portly and slow. (wonder why?!!)
In the same bushes/built up area, I saw a hedgehog last winter. And two years ago I had two squirrels in the tree outside my kitchen window. They were great to watch when doing the dishes, dancing around.
We have a good-sized population of buzzards living nearby. They're big, with a wingspan of 1.5 meters, and noisy, sounding much like cats as they call to each other.
We have squirrels in the trees over here. I have also seen those animals that chew the cables in cars. We have insurance in the event they chow our cars cables. I can't remember their name..
We have two squirrels which run up and down the tree in front of my kitchen window, really amusing to watch. Two weeks ago, I saw an absolutely beautiful deer run out of the forest opposite my house. I was amazed at the speed at which it ran, it look so powerful.
I have seen a 'black' squirrel too on a walk up Üetliberg. I was close enough to see it was not an American squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis) , but a Red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris) that had black fur (tufty ears were the giveaway).
Apparently it's fairly common. The fur colours can go from red, through brown to black: in Southern Italy they're nearly all black and only in England are they nearly all red.
(I resurected this thread as I too was like 'WTF, a black squirrel', Googled around and wha'd'y'know: found myself back here.)
I've lived in Switzerland for 13 years and I haven't seen a single (or married) marmot yet!
I went to the Wildnis Park near Langnau am Albis thsi year where they have some in captivity but they remained underground.
Can any of you kind people tell me a good place in Switzerland where I could see marmots in abundance in the wild relatively easily (I know they are very shy)?