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Much stockier than the chamois, the ibex has adapted perfectly to its hostile environment and can scale the steepest of cliffs with apparent ease. The adult male sports large, knobbly, scimitar-shaped horns and a short stub of beard, while the female could almost be mistaken for a goat with its smaller, less impressive horns and a grey or coffee-coloured coat. Males spend most of the year well away from the females, which inhabit lower regions, and they only come together for the brief mating season.

By contrast the shiny black alpine salamander is a curious newt-like amphibious creature that has adapted to the alpine environment by searching out the most humid areas and remaining concealed during dry weather, but emerging – often in large numbers – during or immediately after heavy showers of rain. It is more often seen in the Oberland than in the drier ranges of the Pennine or Lepontine Alps.

The dainty roe deer inhabits mostly low wooded areas and has a surprisingly raucous bark out of all proportion to its graceful appearance. The red deer stag, on the other hand, has a bellow to match its stately size, and during the autumn rut the forests and open glades echo to the sound. Both red and roe deer have highly developed senses of hearing, sight and smell, and spend most of the daylight hours hidden among the trees, emerging at daybreak and in the evening to graze meadows.