News · August 18, 2026
Vanoise: track the ibex, look out for bearded vultures
Summer 2026 in the Vanoise National Park: Facebouq, a tool to report tagged ibex, and seven young bearded vultures fledged across Savoie.
Champagny-le-Haut is one of the gateways to the Vanoise National Park, and this summer the Park shared two pieces of good wildlife news: a tool that lets every hiker help monitor the ibex, and an encouraging year for the bearded vulture.
Facebouq: your ibex photos help the Park
On 26 July 2026, the Park introduced Facebouq, a citizen-science tool. Some ibex wear individual markings — a collar and coloured ear tags — fitted by Park rangers trained for the job. Every sighting reported helps locate them, and so improves what we know about the species’ survival, breeding, movements and social life.
It works like this:
- you fill in an online form, from a phone or a computer;
- a photo is required to validate the report;
- you select the colours of the tags, which tells you the animal’s name;
- your GPS position is recorded automatically; with no signal, note the place name and the time.
You can also browse the hundred most recent sightings. The Park points out that the tool is still being developed.
Good habits: watch through binoculars or a telephoto lens, frame the ears and collar (even a blurry shot helps), and don’t move any closer if the animal seems uneasy. The ibex is the reason the Park was created in 1963, and it remains vulnerable: low genetic diversity, sensitivity to epidemics, and the effects of climate change.
Bearded vulture: seven young birds fledged in Savoie
On 13 August 2026, the Park published its review of the bearded vulture breeding season in Savoie: 11 breeding pairs and 7 young birds fledged, 5 of them in the skies of the Vanoise. The Park coordinates this monitoring under the 2025–2034 national action plan for this large vulture, and promised more news in the autumn, notably on the GPS tracking of three young birds.
Keep your eyes open from the valley
At the end of the valley road, Le Laisonnay is the starting point for the trails to the Vanoise refuges — plenty of chances to raise your binoculars. Our page on the Vanoise National Park tells its story, and you’ll find outing ideas on our summer activities page.
After a day spent wildlife-watching, the chalet in La Chiserette is only a few minutes away.
Sources: Facebouq, Park news · Facebouq page · 2026 bearded vulture review