In the breathtaking landscape of Gran Paradiso National Park in Northern Italy, an extraordinary sight awaits those lucky enough to witness it.
It looks like a typical day at a dam near a National Park in Northern Italy until you decide to look a little closer…
Can you see it now? If not, look at the next picture below…
OMG! Are those Alpine ibex goats on the side of the dam?
Yes, they are goats! In fact, they are Alpine ibexes and they scale the vertical dam so they can lick the salt and minerals off the rocks.
This little Alpine ibex wanted to get his picture taken. Sorry goat, I’m not brave enough to scale that dam along with you!
High up on the near-vertical face of a dam, a group of alpine ibexes perform a seemingly impossible feat—they climb the steep structure with astonishing grace and balance, as if defying gravity itself. These fearless mountain goats have become a viral sensation thanks to their jaw-dropping ability to scale walls that appear completely unclimbable to most other creatures.
What draws these incredible animals to such precarious heights? The answer lies in survival and nutrition. The dam’s surface contains essential minerals, particularly salt, which the ibexes instinctively seek out. By licking the rocks, they get the nutrients they need to stay healthy—minerals that aren’t always easy to find in their natural alpine environment. It’s a risky move, but one that plays a vital role in their diet.
What’s most remarkable is the ease with which the Alpine ibex move. With specially adapted hooves that grip even the smallest rock ledges, alpine ibexes are naturally equipped to navigate the harsh and rugged terrain of the mountains. Climbing these rock faces and dam walls is not a rare or special event for them—it’s simply part of their daily life. Young ibexes learn the skills from an early age, and their agility and balance are nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Despite the apparent danger, the ibexes show no signs of fear. Their confidence and skill are the result of generations of adaptation to a high-altitude lifestyle. They remind us of nature’s ingenuity and the remarkable abilities of animals to thrive in extreme environments.
The next time you think a steep climb looks impossible, remember the ibex—and how effortlessly it walks where others wouldn’t dare to step.
Please share this amazing herd of Alpine ibex scaling the wall of a vertical dam with your friends and family.
