Mountain Goat
Contact our outfitters for your next Mountain Goat hunt:
The native range of this species is from southeast
Alaska to Washington, western Montana, and central
Idaho. It has been introduced to sections of South
Dakota, Colorado, and Washington.
Mountain
goats prefer steep, rocky areas in alpine or
sub-alpine regions. They migrate between lowland
winter areas and high elevation summer
ranges.
Mountain goats are stout bodied with a
thick coat made up of white hairs with some brown
intermixed dorsally. The pure black horns are around
200-300mm long, rather thin, and present on both
sexes. Mountain goats have relatively large, oval
hooves with an almost rubber-like sole that aids them
in climbing steep rock. They have black glands between
their horns that are used to scent
mark.
Mountain goat breeding season is in late
November to early January. There is a brief courtship
ritual that includes chasing, kicking with the front
legs, and various vocalizations. The male also licks
the female's coat. Gestation is around 150-180 days
and the 1-3 kids are born in May-June. The female
gives birth on the very steep cliffs in her home range
to avoid predators. The young are very mobile shortly
after birth. The young are weaned after 3-4 months and
stay with the mother until she gives birth again.
Sexual maturity is reached after 30 months in both
sexes.
The degree of sociality of mountain
goats varies throughout the year. They tend to form
large groups during the winter and at salt licks in
the spring, but they form smaller groups or are
solitary in the summer. They are active from sunrise
to mid-day and again at dusk. Mountain goats establish
dominance hierarchies at a young age, by means of the
kids' playing behavior. Males are dominate during the
breeding season, but the non-breeding season hierarchy
is quite unusual. At this time, adult females
dominate, while adult males are subordinate to females
and juveniles. Prior to and during the breeding
season, males compete for females. The do not fight
head-to-head but rather stand side by side and stab at
each other's flanks. Thick skin in this area protects
them from serious damage, but deaths have been
reported and are usually associated with wounds to the
chest, neck, or abdomen.
Mountain goats dig
25-50 mm deep "bedding depressions," where they rest
during the mid-day and night. They also dust bathe in
these depressions, possibly to remove parasites or
shedding skin/hair. These beds have caused damage to
certain rare and endangered plant populations in areas
of Washington where mountain goats have been
introduced.
Varies throughout the year, but
their diet consists of grasses, woody plants, mosses,
lichens, herbaceous plants, and other vegetation. They
get most of their water from their food and year round
snowbanks. Mountain goats also travel many miles in
the spring to mineral-rich salt licks.
Mountain
goats are hunted for their exceptionally thick winter
coat and their meat. Some Native American tribes made
blankets and clothes from their shed wool and sold it
to European explorers. Mountain goats are considered
easy to raise in captivity and are kept in many
zoos.
The mountain goat has only been slightly
affected by humans due to its remote habitat.
Recently, however, some populations have received more
hunting pressure because of improved road access. This
species is very sensitive to disturbance and slow to
respond to management techniques. About 100,000
mountain goats are estimated to live in North
America.Cougars are the mountain goat's main
predator.
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