City of Salzburg – unique in the world: refreshment of the chamois population on the Salzburg Kapuzinerberg by German-born young chamois
Located in the heart of the city of Salzburg, they are unique in the world: the dozen or so chamois on the Kapuzinerberg. To refresh the blood of the small, completely isolated population, a female chamois was released from a temporary enclosure on the mountain on Tuesday afternoon, March 22, 2022. Quite short term, because after a few days she couldn’t stand it anymore in the fence that had happened.
Mayor Harald Preuner says: “I’m really happy that we can book an urgently needed new genetic addition with the animal, which originally comes from the Karlsruhe Zoo. The chamois was equipped with a transmitter. This makes it possible to find out where the animal is and for how long, i.e. to create a movement profile together with scientific analyzes.”
Ear tags from the Max Planck Institute
In this context, State Veterinary Director Josef Schöchl thanks the Max Planck Society in Radolfzell near Konstanz in Germany: “Professor Martin Wikelski from the Institute of Behavioral Biology made two solar ear tags available to us. He is an international luminary and looks at global animal migrations – to then protect these animals worldwide.”
Since June 2021, Miriam Wiesner, veterinarian at Salzburg Zoo, had been caring for the young chamois, preparing them for release and now making them available. It was Wiesner who initiated the cooperation with the Max Planck Institute: “Our chamois is now one year and ten months old and weighs 21 kilos. Last Thursday we were able to bring them up the mountain from their enclosure in Salzburg Zoo. That wasn’t easy at all, because the animals are very smart and recognize the veterinarian. But I was finally able to stun them with a blowgun from ten meters away, treat them for parasites and have them shipped to the release enclosure.”
Gamswitz possible in May
Wiesner is pleased that the Gams solar ear tags have been preserved. “It is currently the only chamois that has such state-of-the-art equipment.” Other advantages of the ear tags: They are small, light and the quite active animal cannot get caught anywhere.
“Chamois are sexually mature at about three years old. That means she’s about to. Perhaps the November rut will be over. Then we could already expect a chamois fawn in May next year,” says the specialist. Incidentally, the animal can live up to 20 years. In any case, the zoo would have provided optimal conditions for him to settle in.
Of course, the chamois are looked after and cared for with a lot of love and care on the Kapuzinerberg. Josef Brawisch, Gerhard Wörndl and Christian Neureiter from the magistrate look after the colony as city hunters and foresters, which obviously is not hunted. Together with the state and the zoo, the city of Salzburg will continue to ensure that a healthy population of chamois is at home on the city hill.
Chamois are taken care of
Josef Brawisch explains: “We drive up there two to three times a week and take care of them. The chamois are provided with hay and leaves. In winter there is also a grain mixture for feeding.” And Gerhard Wörndl adds: “The chamois are simply something very special. And therefore a real concern for us.” In addition to the chamois on the Kapuzinerberg, there are deer, badgers, foxes, martens and squirrels in the city forests. Eagle owls, buzzards and other wild birds also find a good habitat here.
“The city forest is particularly important as a recreational area for the population and as a real attraction for our guests, if you think of the Mönchsberg and the Kapuzinerberg,” says Brawisch. It is an honor for him to ensure that these recreational areas are also secured for future generations. Around 1,100 hectares of the area in the city of Salzburg are forested. About 200 hectares belong to the municipality, 900 hectares are privately owned.