Northern Chamois

Northern Chamois

Rupicapra rupicapra

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
at Triglav National Park

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

66 Verified sightings at Triglav National Park From 2019 to 2026
945 In all 8 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Northern Chamois

The chamois (French: [ʃamwa]; Rupicapra rupicapra), or Alpine chamois, is a species of goat-antelope native to mountainous parts of Europe and Western Asia, from the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountain Range, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra to the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope massif, Pindus, the northeastern mountains of Turkey, and the Caucasus. It has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Some subspecies of chamois are strictly protected in the EU under the European Habitats Directive.

The chamois is a very small bovid. A fully grown chamois reaches a height of 70–80 cm (28–31 in) and measures 107–137 cm (42–54 in). Males, which weigh 30–60 kg (66–132 lb), are slightly larger than females, which weigh 25–45 kg (55–99 lb). Both males and females have short, straightish horns which are hooked backwards near the tip, the horn of the male being thicker. In summer, the fur has a rich brown colour which turns to a light grey in winter. Distinct characteristics are white contrasting marks on the sides of the head with pronounced black stripes below the eyes, a white rump and a black stripe along the... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:04

Germany · 2024

© b_hirschmann · XC1051295 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:38

France · 2022

© Stanislas Wroza · XC733308 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:08

Austria · 2023

© Lucy Milan Neuhaus · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~80%
2 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~70%
3 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~50%
4 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~50%
5 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~50%
6 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~40%
7 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
8 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zoo Hluboka 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
2 Parc animalier de Merlet 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 Domaine des Grottes de Han 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
4 Cumberland Wildpark Grünau 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
5 Hellabrunn Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
6 Lüneburg Heath Wildlife Park 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
7 wildlife park Feldkirch 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
8 Tierpark Bern 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
9 Salzburg Zoo 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
10 Tierpark Lange Erlen 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
11 Wildpark Peter und Paul 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
12 Вольерный комплекс 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
13 Alpenzoo Innsbruck 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
14 Parc Animalier d'Introd 🇮🇹 Italy In captivity
15 Tierpark Biel / Parc Zoologique Bienne 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
16 Cumberland Wildpark 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
17 Zoo Schlichtweg 11 in München 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
18 Zoo Siebenbrunner Straße 6 in München 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Northern Chamois in Triglav National Park?

Likely

About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Chamois sighting in Triglav National Park on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 12 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Northern Chamois in Triglav National Park?

June–July and October

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Chamois in Triglav National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February and November–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Northern Chamois?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Chamois sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Northern Chamois sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Northern Chamois is recorded against all the mammals logged in Triglav National Park (66 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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