Chamois have a special pair of features that make them brilliant in the mountains. Like the ibex, their hooves are split and have soft, grippy pads underneath. But chamois are smaller and lighter, which means they can run along narrow ledges at full speed. Some Alpine guides say a chamois moves more like a ballet dancer than a normal animal.
Both male and female chamois have short, curved horns that hook backwards like little fish hooks. The pattern of their fur changes through the year. In summer it is a light reddish-brown, blending into the rocky meadows. In winter the fur grows dark, thick and woolly, with a special black 'mask' across the eyes.
Chamois live in family groups of mothers and young, while older males usually wander alone for much of the year. They graze on tough mountain grasses, herbs and Alpine flowers. In winter, when most plants are buried in snow, they dig with their hooves to reach what is underneath.
If a chamois spots danger - usually an eagle or a lynx - it makes a sharp whistling alarm call, a bit like a marmot's. The whole group dashes for the safest place, which usually means uphill onto steep rocks where bigger predators can't follow. There is a Swiss saying: 'safer than a chamois on a cliff'.