In protected mountains, plants and animals naturally occupy zones which correspond to their needs. The wild thyme thrives on dry, sunny slopes ; Butterflies visit its flowers in their search for nectar. Most types of butterflies choose one species of plant to lay their eggs on. It’s this host plant which provides the young caterpillar with its favourite food before it turns into a butterfly.
Sheltered by the trees, ants use the larch needles to build often imposing anthills. Squirrels stock up on seeds, while feasting on raspberries.
The alpine grass provides food for several herbivores such as the chamois. There can be many grasshoppers on the warm slopes in summer.
It’s the period when, hidden in the high grasses, the chicks of the black grouse hatch out. The grasshoppers provide an excellent source of food for their growth.
Marmots feed on grasses and flowers. They have to eat a great deal during summer as this is their only chance of surviving their hibernation during the long winter.
Once winter has come, the snow vole which doesn’t hibernate, digs a network of tunnels under the thick mantle of snow.
Attracted by this calm environment, a starving lynx can take a chamois by surprise, tired out from the winter. If the lynx is too old or has been weakened by parasites such as lice, it could miss its prey and die of hunger.
In the spring sky, the golden eagle is searching for prey to feed its one and only offspring. Beware, careless little marmots or vipers in too much of a hurry to sunbathe !
