The red deer (Cervus elaphus) had disappeared from much of the country before the National Park was established in 1914, but natural migration from neighbouring regions of Austria saw a steady repopulation in the forested valleys of Graubünden. The adult male dominates a harem of several hinds, and vigorously defends them against all challengers. Fawns are born in May or June and are suckled for three or four months, remaining within easy reach of forest shelter. In summer the adult coat is reddish brown, turning grey-brown in winter. The much smaller roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) has similar colouring, is timid but also very inquisitive, and can be found roaming around the upper timber line. The best time to observe roe deer is in the early morning, or towards dusk when they stray from tree cover to open meadows and favoured drinking pools. The adult male sprouts slender horns, which are shed during the autumn, at the end of the rut.

The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), like its American grey cousin in England, favours a woodland habitat and is fairly common throughout Switzerland. Despite the name its coat is dark brown, or almost black, and the female produces up to seven young, born naked and blind in a spherical drey.

The European lynx (Lynx lynx) was reintroduced into the Swiss Alps in 1970. Weighing 20–30kg it lives in the forests where it preys on birds and mammals up to the size of a roe deer, which it kills with a bite through the neck. Casual sightings are extremely rare. The wildcat (Felis silvestris) is another elusive forest animal. Larger than the domestic cat, it nevertheless has a purr not unlike that of an ordinary moggie, but a miaow that is deeper and more powerful. A few specimens were released into the wild near Interlaken, and others in the Jura, but it is still by no means common.

The Alpine hare (Lepus timidus) has a wide distribution in northern Europe and is found in open country both below and above the tree line, to about 3000m. In winter its coat is white; in summer, brown with white patches. Thanks to the production of two, and sometimes three, litters a year, the hare manages to maintain its numbers against the ravages of a variety of carnivores.

Throughout the Alps the shrill, high-pitched alarm whistle of the marmot (Marmota marmota – or Murmeltier in German) will be heard from late spring until early autumn. One of the most widespread of all Alpine rodents, it is ever wary of such predators as the fox and eagle, for which it forms the chief food source. Living in burrows, mostly above the tree line, the marmot hibernates in a “nest” of dried grasses for as many as seven months a year in the upper regions around 3000m, or five to six months at lower altitudes. At the end of hibernation pairing occurs almost at once, and after a 33-day gestation period the young are born, naked and with eyes closed. The young do not emerge from their burrows much before the end of July, by which time they’ve grown a covering of fur, and are able to attack the coarse meadow grasses with their razor-like teeth. An adult grows to a length of 48–56cm, with a 16–20cm tail, and by September weighs around 4–6kg, although some males can weigh up to 9kg. They live to approximately ten years, although some have been known to reach twenty.

The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra – or Gemse in German) is found not only in the Alpine regions, but also in the lower Jura mountains of the west and northwest of Switzerland. Although sought by hunters in the autumn, in select areas it has enjoyed protected status since the sixteenth century. The Engadine is thought to have one of Europe’s largest populations of this handsome antelope-like ruminant with short hooked horns and a russet coat sometimes lightening to fawn-grey in summer. Noted for its agility, it is also prone to disease, especially the notorious chamois-blindness that occasionally devastates complete herds. The rut finishes in November and the young are born between mid-May and mid-June after a gestation of 160–180 days. A fully grown chamois reaches 1.10–1.30m in length and weighs up to 50kg (male) or 30–35kg (female). Longevity is about twenty years. They can be seen, either singly or in herds, throughout the Swiss Alps – but rarely at close quarters.

While the chamois has short but graceful horns, the stockier male ibex (Capra ibex – or Steinbock in German) has large, knobbly, scimitar-shaped horns which are used as weapons during the battles for dominance that accompany the autumn rut. Defeated males must then wait their turn for sexual maturity until they are able to defend a harem of their own. Although the chamois ranges high in the mountains, the ibex zone is even higher – some have been sighted at over 4000m. For the greater part of the year it lives above the tree line, often roaming to the high snows in summer, but occasionally descending to the forests in winter. Weighing up to 100kg, the ibex negotiates narrow rock ledges with confidence and precision despite its stocky body and comparatively short legs, and apparently displays great care when crossing slopes threatened by avalanche. A sizeable herd roams the upper slopes of Piz Albris near Pontresina in Val Bernina, another can be seen high above Val de Bagnes in the Valais, often grazing close to the Sentier de Chamois hiking trail.