Switzerland Wild animals 2014
Swiss Post is launching a new series of stamps entitled “Wildlife”. The set comprises four stamps featuring species found in the Swiss National Park, the Val Müstair and through- out the rest of Switzerland, namely the mouse weasel, the Alpine marmot, the spotted nutcracker and the red deer.
It seems an obvious choice that a new series of stamps to mark the centenary of the Swiss National Park will focus on its native wildlife. Mouse weasels, Alpine marmots, spotted nutcrackers and red deer give a taste of the diversity of spe- cies still to be found in Switzerland.
The mouse weasel, which is only sighted on rare occasions, is Switzerland’s small- est native carnivore. The spotted nut- cracker, on the other hand, can be distin- guished by its voice and its garrulous nature, although its appearance is some- what inconspicuous. More striking and
well-known, however, are the Alpine mar- mot and the red deer. While the marmot can often be observed at close range and is particularly popular with children due to its cute appearance, catching a glimpse of an imposing red deer is sure to set pulses racing among wildlife enthusiasts – espe- cially hunters.
Mouse weasel
The mouse weasel is equally at home in the valleys and in mountain- ous terrain. It can be distinguished from the larger stoat by its much shorter tail, without a black tip. Both the weasel and stoat have an elongated body, are extremely agile and primarily hunt voles. The abundance of weasels varies in line with the size of the vole popula- tion and the rate at which they breed. The weasel’s physical attributes enable it to hunt below ground in vole burrows or beneath a layer of snow. In the Alpine region there are two types of weasels, often described as subspecies: the dwarf weasel, which turns white in the winter, and the common weasel, which retains its brown coat on the upper part of its body.
Alpine marmot
The Alpine marmot is mainly found above the tree line. In this vast expanse of grassland, the marmot families dig and inhabit a complex system of earthworks around a metre below ground. The animals use their characteristic whistling call to warn of approaching enemies and are adept at beating a hasty retreat into the safety of their subterranean home. During the growing season, living conditions are ideal, in stark contrast to the win- ter months. The animals have adapted to solve this problem, hibernating during the cold, snowy winter months. They build up large fat reserves during the summer to help them survive the winter. To save energy during the hibernation period, the marmot’s stomach and intestinal tract shrink significantly. Its breathing falls to around two breaths a minute, while its heart rate is reduced from 200 to just 20 beats a minute. In this way, energy consumption is reduced to less than 10 percent. Around 1,200 grams of body fat are sufficient to survive the winter.
Nutcracker
The spotted nutcracker belongs to the corvid family and inhabits coniferous and mixed forest. It feeds on energy-rich tree fruit, mainly hazelnuts and pine nuts. The bird stockpiles food in winter, so that it has a year-round supply. A spotted nutcracker stashes away between 30,000 and 100,0000 pine nuts, which 80% of the time it will find again, even under a deep layer of snow. Despite these outstanding memory skills – the background to which remains unclear – many pine nuts are left in the ground, thus helping this species of tree to propagate. As the nutcracker often gathers the pine nuts from a distance of several kilometres, transporting them in its throat pouch, it plays a crucial role in the proliferation of mountain pine trees. Both species, flora and fauna, rely on each other, thereby creating a symbiosis.
Red deer
The red deer became extinct in Switzerland very early on, only making its way back in the second half of the 19th century from Liechtenstein and Vorarlberg in Austria. For many years Graubünden was the principal home of the deer and the population flourished, mainly in the Swiss National Park. Starting from these areas, the red deer moved on to in- habit other parts of the Alpine region. Today, it is common in many parts of the Swiss Central Plateau and the Jura. The largest of Switzerland’s native herbivores, the deer is frequently blamed for causing damage to forests. And yet, given that our forests fulfil various roles, including pre- serving and promoting biodiversity, the red deer should be welcomed throughout the country. In the interests of sustainable exploitation, hunting of deer is allowed outside of the protected areas. This allows population densities to be kept under control.
Released September 5, 2014