Mountain goat

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For other uses, see Mountain goat (disambiguation).

Mountain goat

Mountain goat in the Cascades

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) [1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae

Subfamily: Caprinae

Tribe: Caprini

Genus: Oreamnos

Species: O. americanus

Binomial name

Oreamnos americanus

(Blainville, 1816)

Synonyms

 Mazama
dorsata Rafinesque,
1817
 R[upicapra].
americanus de
Blainville, 1816
The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain
goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America.
A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and
ice.
Despite its vernacular name and both genera being in the same subfamily (Caprinae),
the mountain goat is not a member of Capra, the genus that includes all other goats,
such as the wild goat (Capra aegagrus), from which the domestic goat is derived.
Instead, it is more closely allied with the takins (Budorcas) and chamois (Rupicapra).

Contents

 1Classification and evolution

 2General appearance and characteristics
 3Range and habitat
 4Movement patterns
 5Diet
 6Lifecycle and mating
 7Aggressive behavior
 8Wool
 9References
 10Further reading
 11External links

Classification and evolution[edit]

The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the
family Bovidae that includes antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. It belongs to the
subfamily Caprinae, along with true goats, wild sheep, the chamois, the muskox and
other species. The takins of the Himalayan region, while not a sister lineage of the
mountain goat, are nonetheless very closely related and almost coeval to the mountain
goat; they evolved in parallel from an ancestral goat. Other members of this group are
the bharal, the true goats, and the Himalayan tahr. The sheep lineage is also very
closely related, while the muskox lineage is somewhat more distant. The mountain
goats probably diverged from their relatives in the late Tortonian, some 7.5 to 8 million
years ago.[citation needed]
Given that all major caprine lineages emerged in the Late Miocene and contain at least
one but usually several species from the eastern Himalayan region, their most likely
place of origin is between today's Tibet and Mongolia or nearby. The mountain goat's
ancestors thus probably crossed the Bering Strait after they split from their relatives,
presumably before the Wisconsinian glaciation. No Pliocene mountain goats have been
identified yet; the known fossil record is fairly recent, entirely from North America, and
barely differs from the living animals. In the Pleistocene, the small prehistoric mountain
goat Oreamnos harringtoni lived in the southern Rocky Mountains. Ancient DNA studies
suggest that this was the sister species of the living mountain goat, not its ancestor;
consequently, the living species would also date back to the Pleistocene at least. [2][3]
The mountain goat is the only living species in the genus Oreamnos. The
name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros (stem ore-) "mountain" (or,
alternatively, oreas "mountain nymph") and the word amnos "lamb".

General appearance and characteristics[edit]

Mountain goat on Mount Massive, Colorado, United States

Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns,
15–28 cm (5.9–11 in) in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected
from the elements by their woolly grayish white double coats. The fine, dense wool of
their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. Mountain goats
molt in spring by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult billies shedding their
extra wool first and the pregnant nannies shedding last. Their coats help them to
withstand winter temperatures as low as −46 °C (−51 °F) and winds of up to 160
kilometres per hour (99 mph).

Close-up of head

A male goat stands about 1 m (3.3 ft) at the shoulder to the waist and can weigh
considerably more than the female (around 30% more in some cases). Male goats also
have longer horns and longer beards than females. Mountain goats can weigh between
45 and 140 kg (99 and 310 lb), and billies will often weigh less than 82 kg (180 lb). The
head-and-body length can range from 120–179 cm (47–70 in), with a small tail adding
10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in).[4][5][6]
The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes with pitches
exceeding 60°, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread
apart. The tips of their feet have sharp dewclaws that keep them from slipping. They
have powerful shoulder and neck muscles that help propel them up steep slopes.
[7]
 Based on a field recording in the Rocky Mountains of Canada of a mountain goat
climbing a 45-degree slope, researchers were able to measure the goat's whole body
movement as it climbed. Researchers observed that when the goat propelled itself
forward, it extended its back legs and the front legs were tucked close up to its chest
during its first phase. During the second phase, the goat raised its back legs near to its
chest, while the front leg's humerus stayed locked in a persistent location relative to the
goat's chest, therefore allowing the elbow to be detained in close proximity to the whole
body's center of balance. Extension of the elbow and carpal joints resulted in a vertical
translation of the center of mass up the mountain slope. [8]

Range and habitat[edit]

The mountain goat inhabits the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Range and other
mountain regions of the Western Cordillera of North America,
from Washington, Idaho and Montana through British Columbia and Alberta, into the
southern Yukon and southeastern Alaska. British Columbia contains half of the world's
population of mountain goats. [9] Its northernmost range is said to be along the northern
fringe of the Chugach Mountains in southcentral Alaska. Introduced populations can
also be found in such areas
as Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, and the Olympic
Peninsula of Washington.
Mountain goats are the largest mammals found in their high-altitude habitats, which can
exceed elevations of 13,000 ft (4,000 m). They sometimes descend to sea level in
coastal areas although they are primarily an alpine and subalpine species. The animals
usually stay above the tree line throughout the year but they will migrate seasonally to
higher or lower elevations within that range. Winter migrations to low-elevation mineral
licks often take them several kilometers through forested areas. [10]

Movement patterns[edit]

In the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier National Park, near the southwestern limit of their distribution

Daily movements by individual mountain goats are primarily confined to areas on the
same mountain face, drainage basin, or alpine opening. Daily movements reflect an
individual's needs for foraging, resting, thermoregulation and security from predators or
disturbance. Seasonal movements primarily reflect nutritional needs (such as
movements to and from mineral licks/salt lick), reproductive needs (in other words,
movement of pre-parturient females to "kidding" areas; movement to rutting areas), and
climatic influences (including movement to areas in response to foraging conditions). In
general, seasonal movements are likely to exhibit a strong elevational component,
whereby lower, forested elevations are used during the spring-summer (security cover
effects) to access lower elevation mineral licks, and during winter (thermal cover effects)
to access forage. The farthest movements are expected to be by dispersing mountain
goats. Such movements are likely to involve mountain goats crossing forested valleys
as they move between mountain blocks.

Diet[edit]

Young mountain goat licking handrail for salt

Mountain goats are herbivores and spend most of their time grazing. Their diets
include grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, mosses, lichens, and twigs and leaves from the
low-growing shrubs and conifers of their high-altitude habitat.

A mountain goat grazing at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

In captivity, the mountain goat's diet can also include grain, alfalfa, fruits, vegetables
and grass.

Lifecycle and mating[edit]

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In the wild, mountain goats usually live 12 to 15 years, with their lifespans limited by the
wearing down of their teeth. In zoos, however, they can live for 16 to 20 years.

Mountain goat kid at Cawridge, Alberta

Mountain goats reach sexual maturity at about 30 months. [11] Nannies in a herd undergo
synchronized estrus in late October through early December, at which time females and
males participate in a mating ritual. Mature billies stare at nannies for long periods, dig
rutting pits, and fight each other in showy (though occasionally dangerous) scuffles.
Nannies often ignore young billies, who try to participate but are discounted in favor of
older partners. Both females and males usually mate with multiple individuals during
breeding season, although some billies try to keep other males away from certain
nannies. After the breeding season is over, females and males move away from each
other. Nannies form loose-knit nursery groups of up to 50 animals. The adult billies
leave, often alone or with two-three other billies.

Mountain goat with kid in Glacier National Park

Kids are born in the spring (late May or early June) after a six-month gestation period.
Nannies give birth, usually to a single offspring, after moving to an isolated ledge; post
partum, they lick the kid dry and ingest the placenta. Kids weigh a little over 3 kg (6.6 lb)
at birth and begin to run and climb (or attempt to do so) within hours. Although lactation
is mostly finished at one month, kids follow their mothers closely for the first year of life
(or until the nanny gives birth again, if this does not occur the next breeding season);
nannies protect their young by leading them out of danger, standing over them when
faced by predators, and positioning themselves below their kids on steep slopes to stop
freefalls.

Aggressive behavior[edit]
Nannies can be very competitive and protective of their space and food sources. They
fight with one another for dominance in conflicts that can ultimately include all the
nannies in the herd. In these battles, nannies circle each other with their heads lowered,
displaying their horns. These conflicts can occasionally lead to injury or death, but are
usually harmless. To avoid fighting, an animal may show a posture of nonaggression by
stretching low to the ground.
In regions below the tree line, nannies use their fighting abilities to protect themselves
and their offspring from predators. Predators, including wolves, wolverines, lynxes,
and bears, attack goats of most ages given the opportunity. The cougar, or mountain
lion, is perhaps the primary predator, being powerful enough to overwhelm the largest
adults and uniquely nimble enough to navigate the rocky ecosystem of the goats.
Though their size protects them from most potential predators in higher altitudes,
nannies must sometimes defend their young from both bald and golden eagles,[12] which
can be a predatory threat to kids.[5] Nannies have even been observed trying to
dominate the more passive, but often heavier bighorn sheep that share some of their
territory. In 2021, a mountain goat gored a grizzly bear to death in Yoho National
Park, British Columbia.[13]
Mountain goats introduced in the 1920s into Washington’s Olympic Mountains were in
time found to be a nuisance there, in particular while seeking human urine and sweat for
its salt content, the park lacking natural salt licks, and even aggressively approaching
human visitors. One such goat killed a hiker in 2010. [14] Officials finally chose to eradicate
them from the Olympic Peninsula, removing hundreds, mostly by capturing them and
relocating them to the Cascade Mountains.[15]

Wool[edit]
Further information: Salish weaving §  Mountain goat's wool
Although mountain goats have never been domesticated and commercialized for
their wool, pre-Columbian indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast did
incorporate their wool into their weaving by collecting spring moulted wool left by wild
goats.