What it is
The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is a sturdy wild goat of the high Alps with a brown to grey coat. Males are much heavier than females, grow a beard and carry long, curved horns, and both sexes climb steep rock with ease. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Least Concern.
Range
Steep rocky slopes and alpine meadows of the Alps.
What happened
Hunting with firearms nearly wiped out the Alpine ibex, and the last wild ibex in Switzerland was shot in 1809. Fewer than 100 survived in the Gran Paradiso mountains in Italy at the end of the nineteenth century. Switzerland released its first five ibex in 1911, and today about 18,000 live there and about 40,000 across the Alps.
When / status
Least Concern now, after more than a century of protection and releases.
Human role
Hunting nearly wiped it out, and all of today's ibex come from a small group, so they carry little genetic variety.