The alpine ibex

Threatened with extinction in France at the beginning of the 20th century (only about sixty individuals survived in the French Alps), this ungulate was responsible for the creation of the Vanoise National Park in 1963. Every summer, about fifty animals inhabit the cliffs around the Refuge de la Martin, a peaceful environment favoured by the females for giving birth. In winter, however, the majority of them desert this very snowy and avalanche-prone slope.