Valle Antrona aka the Italian Alps, June 2011. The over 160 ft Cingino Dam is located here, higher than the Statue of Liberty. It was built for a hydroelectric power project in the 1920s. So what’s unusual about this dam?
These Alpine Ibex have scaled this tall wall in a death-defying climb. Maryann Huckvale, a witness, describes the scene, “It was incredible. They would hop from one little ledge up to another little ledge as if it was nothing. One of the ibexes got scared of the camera, so he jumped down. It was like watching somebody ski down a very steep mountain.” Ibex are native to the slopes of the Alps, they live in the surrounding forest. They are used to high altitudes living at 7500 feet above sea level. However, the drop of the Cingino Dam is more vertical than any other rocky hillside. If they fall, they won’t survive. So why do they climb the wall?
The Alpine Ibex are cousins of the common goat, the most apparent distinction being the large curved horns. Short legs and low slung body mass give the ibex a low center of gravity enabling them to be able to balance themselves better. Their strong muscles and its hooves (sharp external rim and soft center) make them natural climbers. These special features explain how they thrive on bare rock, but not why they climb this concrete and stone wall. Shelter from the sun could not be a reason as the dam faces southeast, automatically protecting it from the sun. Protection from humans or predators couldn’t be a reason as they are equally in danger here as they are anywhere else. On close observation, Maryann realizes that the Ibex are licking the walls. No plants grow on the wall, so what could it be? However, Radames Bionda makes a revelation. Ibex love salt and their regular plant diet lacks salt. What’s the relation between a stone and concrete wall and salt?
Dam supervisor Luciano Rametti says that during chemical reactions when concrete is made, salt is formed and over a long time due to the wet nature of the dam, the salt is brought to the surface.
All for contenting their need for salt, the Alpine Ibex risk their lives by climbing up this Brobdingnagian wall of the Cingino Dam.Grit, agility and nature at its finest!
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