Mischievous Animal Magic

During a mini break from work this last bank holiday weekend, I realised it was time to muster up another mh2ski blog post. Having been back in the UK for over three weeks now, it seems a little odd reflecting on last ski season, so with that in mind I'd thought we would have a slight break from ski related articles for a change. Just before leaving Meribel it was nice to relax and take a few days exploring the stunning French Alps. In the past few years I've really enjoyed heading deep into the Vanoise National Parc, and seeing if there were any friends around to say 'hi' to.

Sure enough, I returned to an area known for mind blowing views, it was fun trying to sniff out some old friends from last spring..... four-legged friends that have goaty beards!

Yep, it was time to spot some Bouquetin, also known as Ibex. Many ski resorts will have chalets, hotels, mountain restaurants, pistes and ski lifts named after these beasts. Yet many skiers will have never seen them in real life due to their rarity and their habitat being far away from ski pistes. This makes it even more special to be able to find some in their majestic environment, in the protected National Parc.

Whenever us humans get to see wild animals, we tend to admire and stare at them. We can't help it can we? It could be a fox, a frog or a heron. I guess it is because we are not used seeing such creatures that often. With Bouquetin, it is exactly the same, if not more so. If they don't take flight, which is very common, they will stare back at you. I then found something most bizarre happening...... I started to have conversations with them in my head !?! "Zut alors Martin, are you turning crazy?" I hear you ask. No, I hope not. But don't humans often talk to their pets, for example cats and dogs, even when in public?

Hands up who remembers a TV programme called 'Animal Magic' with Johnny Morris? Showing your age there everyone who does. It was on screen between 1962 and 1983 according to Wikipedia. Remember he used to do voiceovers for various animals. Somehow, I ended up doing the same with the Bouquetins!

"Yo yo yo Human Baldy (that's me by the way), your New York Yankees cap is sick man. Hey man, check out my goaty beard, it's insane."

"It's sick man, the Honeys in the valley are loving this. Check it out from this angle. Look man, it's sick man."

In my defence, I have to wear a cap to protect my bald patch when it's sunny. How rude of this young pup to call me Human Baldy, no respect whatsoever. Anyway, it was time to leave him to his own street talk.

"Oh hello Human Baldy, the word on the street was that you were in town. Do you like my Posh Beckham pout? I saw it on the internet last year. I'm waiting for this young Dude with a cute goaty beard, when he comes this way I want to impress him with the pout!"

Blimey, another Bouquetin full of the joys of spring. Didn't realise they spoke to each other and spread the word of my existence.

"Hey look, there's that Human Baldy bloke we heard about, with his huge camera and lens again. Let's pretend that we are having a fight and headbutt each other. He might get all excited. I'll start, ready......... ooooph. Maybe not, that really hurt, shall we stop?"

"Ouch, easy tiger, take this........ ooooph. I've had a shocking headache all morning, will you pack it in. I'm not stopping first anyway, you stop first."

Typical children, what started as a play fight ended up as full on fisticuffs. I left them to it, headbutting each other.

"Hey Human Baldy, what you staring at? Bet I can out stare you. Look, I haven't even blinked for two minutes. I win. Yay, I won everybody. Human Baldy is the loser. Loser, loser......... looooooserrrrr."

Oh for goodness sake. Looks like I came across one of the must competitive Bouquetin ever on the planet! Time to move on, oh, who do we have here?

"Yo yo yo, Human Baldy, it's me with the insane goaty beard again man. I saw this Honey a moment ago, and she gave me a sick Posh Beckham pout, it was sweet man. I'm buzzing. Yo, give us a high five man."

Blimey, of all the Dudes to bump into again.

It's addictive this nonsense! Think I'll stop there, great fun though. When seeing the first animal after reading this blog post, I dare you to not go into Johnny Morris mode. Joking apart, it was really special being in the company of such creatures, they have real presence. And I hope one day you can experience it as well.

So enough of this latest nonsense. If you enjoyed this blog post, you might like another with humour and doesn't take life too seriously, click here for the link. Feel free to share away on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ by using the social media icons. Or leave a comment below, it's simple to do. I trust you are all diving head first into the summer? It's going to be sick man. Martin.