A species on the brink
By the early 19th century, the Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) had been hunted to near-extinction across the entirety of its mountain range. The introduction of firearms in the 16th century accelerated their decline. Hunters pursued them for their meat, but also for mystical and medicinal beliefs attached to their bodies—powdered horn was thought to be an antidote to poison, and other parts were believed to have curative powers. This intense pressure eradicated the ibex from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria by the 1800s. The world's last remaining population, numbering fewer than 100 individuals, survived only in the Gran Paradiso area on the border of Italy and France.
This tiny remnant population is the genetic source for every Alpine ibex alive today. In 1821, the government of Piedmont banned ibex hunting, and in 1854, Italy's King Victor Emmanuel II designated Gran Paradiso a royal hunting reserve. This royal protection, ironically intended to preserve the king's private hunting stock, saved the species. The Vanoise massif, adjacent to Gran Paradiso in France, held a few dozen of these survivors. The idea for a French park to protect them emerged as early as 1943, directly inspired by the success of the Italian reserve. On July 6, 1963, Vanoise National Park was officially created, becoming the first national park in France. Its primary objective was the protection of the last French ibex.