The Alpine Ibex and Slovenia’s stakeholders meeting

The Alpine ibex is part of the Slovenian Alpine fauna, whose colonies are present in the Julian Alps and the Kamniško Savinjske Alps.

Its native status has been proven with archaeological finds that were genetically tested. The findings showed that there are four different specimens of the Alpine ibex from the ancient period, confirming so its native status in Slovenia.

In addition to the finds, a habitat suitability model for the Alpine ibex has been prepared and it has confirmed that there is enough space for an Alpine ibex population in Slovenia.

All the data from the survey are published in the Slovenian professional forestry journal ‘’Gozdarski vestnik’’.

In February, the Slovenian Forest Service organized a meeting with stakeholders in Bovec on the issue of the management of the Alpine ibex. The meeting was attended by hunting ground managers from Posočje and Triglav National Park, as hunters and nature conservation rangers are key stakeholders in the preparation of appropriate guidelines for the Alpine ibex.

At the meeting, the findings and evidence on the Alpine ibex were presented and soon after it, with the cooperation of hunters the development of guidelines for a further management was set up. In particular, the stakeholders involved stressed the need to collect genetic samples to confirm inbreeding, which is a major problem for the population's persistence. The stakeholders showed great interest in continuing to participate in the project, as they are keen to manage the population and improve the status of the population in the future. They also consider it crucial to raise awareness among the local population.

Photo: Miha Krofel