Ibex-Domestic Goat Hybrids in the Barn

In Switzerland, more and more breeders are taking a liking to crossing true wild animals with domestic animals. Ibex hybrids are a cross between ibex and goats.

Wild animals crossbreed with one another more frequently than was long assumed, particularly rodents, but also birds. When goats mate with ibex, the offspring would normally be expected to be infertile. That this is not the case is demonstrated by a handful of breeders who have developed a fondness for these controversial hybrids. Unlike other hybrids such as the mule, ibex hybrids are in fact fertile.

Marco Giacometti, a wildlife biologist with a doctorate, was the first scientist in the world to report on the crossbreeding of ibex and domestic goats. His study focused on hybrids in Soglio. His research, covering the period from 1989 to 2001, demonstrated that hybrids between ibex and domestic goats born in the wild were also capable of surviving in the wild, and that entire herds of them could form in the mountains.

Goat Laboratory in the Glarnerland

«Goat laboratory» is what Felix Widmer calls his alpine pasture in the Glarnerland’s Kärpf area. He describes how he came to breed hybrids: «I was captivated by the goat. The animal interests me far more than the products that come from it.» The former teacher educated himself through independent study.

Widmer is aware that his hybrid breeding is not welcomed everywhere. «Pedigree goat breeders have no enthusiasm for it at all.»

Lack of Legal Basis

Felix Widmer may be Switzerland’s pioneer of hybrid goat breeding, but he is not the only one with a passion for this unusual cross. «And there are certainly more out there,» says the man from Glarus. «But most of them have concerns about legality, which is why they don’t talk about it.»

In principle, hybrids are treated like wild animals and therefore require a special permit for keeping. The crossbreeding of different species increases the risk of animal disease.

In 2014, a game warden spotted as many as eight hybrid animals in the Val Roseg near Pontresina in Graubünden. To avoid endangering the purity of the Alpine ibex population, the hybrids were immediately shot. More on Biodiversity.