The wild side of Switzerland

Iconic Swiss species

European beech Tree of life’s a beech

In autumn, Switzerland’s beech trees are aflame with red leaves. However, they struggle with the higher temperatures that come with climate change.

Alpine marmot Cute rodent appears on postcards and plates

By Susan Misicka and Julie Hunt

Their fat faces grace postcards; their fat is used in salves. In Switzerland, the marmot is part mascot, part medicine chest and part meal.

Edelweiss Rarefied beauty found in Alps and adverts

By Susan Misicka and Ester Unterfinger

Fuzzy and white, Edelweiss flowers are a lucky find for hikers, and a ubiquitous sight on Swiss marketing materials.

Wolf Big, yes, but bad? Carnivore divides Swiss opinion

By Susan Misicka and Julie Hunt

Emotions run high whenever this elusive creature appears. As wolves make a comeback in Switzerland, they spark feelings of awe and fear.

Alpenrose Not a rose but a rhododendron

By Susan Misicka and Ester Unterfinger

Immortalized by Swiss singer Polo Hofer, this flowering plant thrives in the Alps and in the Jura region.

Blueberry A sweet treat for hunter-gatherers

By Susan Misicka and Ester Unterfinger

In May and June, Switzerland’s wild blueberry bushes are in bloom. They’re popular with birds, foxes and bears.

Golden eagle The raptor with the unjustified bad rap

By Susan Misicka and Julie Hunt

This is the only large Swiss predator that survived the days when the bearded vulture, the lynx, the wolf and the brown bear were exterminated.

Alpine ibex In the thrall of the mountain king

By Susan Misicka and Julie Hunt

Once extinct in Switzerland, the ibex is back. Thousands of the surefooted creatures now live in the Swiss Alps.

Biodiversity in Switzerland

Arts & sciences Mountain king dissected – for art’s sake

By Susan Misicka, Zurich

Walk into a zoological museum and you’d expect to see a bunch of fossils and dead animals. But an art installation?

Zermatt plague Marmots invade Matterhorn area

By swissinfo.ch and Radio SRF

“So sweet!”, coo the tourists. “Shoot them,” say the authorities in Zermatt, where marmots have become a plague.

Biodiversity strategy Swiss nature gets CHF80 million a year

The Swiss government has earmarked CHF80 million per year to implement its biodiversity strategy. Environmental groups say it’s not enough.

Wildlife law Wolves facing reduced protection status

By Susan Misicka

The Swiss government wants to downgrade the protection status of wolves – which could lead to more of them being hunted down and killed.

Wolves Swiss wolf puppies: Small, fluffy, playful

In the canton of Ticino's Valle Morobbia, four young wolves were discovered through a photo trap.

Endangered species Reports sound alarm bells for Swiss biodiversity

Biological diversity in Switzerland faces alarming challenges, with more endangered animals and plants than in most other European countries.

Helping nature A new habitat for sand martins

A gravel pit owner in canton Aargau has created a nesting place for sand martins, to try to boost the number of these endangered birds.

cow, ibex, marmot, Saint Bernard Switzerland’s ‘Big Four’ animals on display in Zurich

By Susan Misicka

Pop quiz: What’s the national animal of Switzerland? Actually, there isn’t one. But the Swiss National Museum is highlighting four candidates.

Animal attraction New Swiss bear park gets green light

By Susan Misicka

If all goes to plan, Swiss mountain resort Arosa will soon have a park for rescued bears.

Otter confusion Post delivers ‘wrong’ otter on stamp set

A quarter of a century after being driven out of Switzerland, the European fish otter has made its comeback – only for the post office to mistake ...

Swiss wildlife Bear tracks seen in Engadine

A wild bear has been spending time in the national park in eastern Switzerland.

Water quality Problematic pesticide levels in Swiss streams

By Susan Misicka

High levels of pollution in Swiss streams pose a threat to the nation’s biodiversity.

Biodiversity conservation ‘I hope we’ll find ways to coexist with bears’

By Susan Misicka

In terms of biodiversity, Switzerland is doing very badly, finds the head of conservation biology at the University of Bern.

Podcast Swiss Waterways: Looking for wildness

By John Heilprin

Despite Switzerland’s abundance of water, few of its rivers are truly pristine.

Europe's Forests From Bern to Moscow, the climate and biodiversity challenge

By John Heilprin

, Engelberg

Two centuries after the "Slide of Alpnach" brought Swiss timber to European markets, it's the lessons of using too much wood that draw global notice.

Man and nature Geneva goes wild for ‘biological corridors’

By Simon Bradley in Geneva

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity. Aware of the dangers, the sprawling Swiss city of Geneva is introducing cross-border ‘biological ...

People and predators Wolves: welcome or worrying?

By Michele Andina and Susan Misicka

Should an area in south-western Switzerland be a predator-free zone? A local initiative wants to eliminate protected species like wolves.

See in other languages: 9

(Keystone) — Podcast ‘Wolves and lynx have a role to play’

By Susan Misicka
A conservation biologist explains the role of predators in an ecosystem, and tells us why we should stop and smell the free-tailed bats.

2 There are 2 comments on this article.

Sci & Tech

Environment

Are the Swiss ready for bears? How to live with dangerous animals

By Julie Hunt

Following the shooting of Switzerland’s only wild bear, M13, attempts are being made to stop future bears from suffering the same fate. (Julie ...

Special reports

Davos_Botanischer-Garten-Alpinum-Schatzalp

Planting the seed of biodiversity

They're not just beautiful. Botanical gardens also have an important role to play in nature, as this series of photos shows.

ProSpecieRara Switzerland’s endangered species on show

By Julie Hunt

Rare Swiss breeds are being saved from extinction by the ProSpecieRara foundation. Traditional breeds are often more robust and cheaper to maintain.

See in other languages: 9

Quicklinks

Focus

How to spend it
Here’s what (the new) Swiss ten-franc note will get you

Development Impact Bond
Are India's daughters a good return on investment?

in depth
Educating Switzerland

Reformation stories: The Strauss Affair
A professor’s appointment wreaks havoc in Zurich

in depth
Switzerland: How To

'Together'
Quiz app decodes daily life in Switzerland

in depth
Asylum in Switzerland - A safe haven

Fintech Switzerland
A new wave of digital financial technology (fintech) innovations are springing up in Switzerland that could either transform traditional financial companies - or replace them.

Navigation

Skiplink Navigation

Main Features

Search function

The wild side of Switzerland

Iconic Swiss species

European beech Tree of life’s a beech

Alpine marmot Cute rodent appears on postcards and plates

Edelweiss Rarefied beauty found in Alps and adverts

Wolf Big, yes, but bad? Carnivore divides Swiss opinion

Alpenrose Not a rose but a rhododendron

Blueberry A sweet treat for hunter-gatherers

Golden eagle The raptor with the unjustified bad rap

Alpine ibex In the thrall of the mountain king

Biodiversity in Switzerland

Arts & sciences Mountain king dissected – for art’s sake

Zermatt plague Marmots invade Matterhorn area

Biodiversity strategy Swiss nature gets CHF80 million a year

Wildlife law Wolves facing reduced protection status

Wolves Swiss wolf puppies: Small, fluffy, playful

Endangered species Reports sound alarm bells for Swiss biodiversity

Helping nature A new habitat for sand martins

cow, ibex, marmot, Saint Bernard Switzerland’s ‘Big Four’ animals on display in Zurich

Animal attraction New Swiss bear park gets green light

Otter confusion Post delivers ‘wrong’ otter on stamp set

Swiss wildlife Bear tracks seen in Engadine

Water quality Problematic pesticide levels in Swiss streams

Biodiversity conservation ‘I hope we’ll find ways to coexist with bears’

Podcast Swiss Waterways: Looking for wildness

Europe's Forests From Bern to Moscow, the climate and biodiversity challenge

Man and nature Geneva goes wild for ‘biological corridors’

Additional content about the topic

People and predators Wolves: welcome or worrying?

Podcast ‘Wolves and lynx have a role to play’

Are the Swiss ready for bears? How to live with dangerous animals

Planting the seed of biodiversity

ProSpecieRara Switzerland’s endangered species on show

Quicklinks

Focus

Function	Example	Search result
Search for exact term	"money-laundering", "Roger Federer"	Results include exact spellings of "money-laundering" and "Roger Federer"
Search for all terms	Roger Federer	Results include "Roger" and "Federer"
Either-or search	money-laundering	Results include "money" or "laundering"
Search for one term and not the other	money -laundering	Results include "money" but NOT "laundering"
Search for word stem	sun*	Results include words with the same base like "sun", "suns", "sunshine", "sunny"
Search with placeholder for letter	wom*n	Results include all possible words: "woman", "women"