Swiss Animals

A cow and her calf - they were huge and very stocky cows that produce rich milk in the summer farms. Trekking one day we stopped for a cup of tea in a small butter and cheese producing families hut with work in progress. Cheese and milk is not pasturised or homogenised in these areas.

A cheese press in one of the local huts.

These are called Marmots and they are alpine mammals that live in burrows. They are very shy and make screeching sounds similar to a parrot. They love sunning themselves on the rocks but quickly scarper away when trekkers approach. They are part of the beaver family apparently and as you can see very cute and the size of a mid size terrier with a bushy tail.

A curious mountain goat in the summer pastures around 2000m. He wanted to know what we were doing on the trek and they approach you to see if you have any salt blocks.