Eunoia
UNLESS SOMEONE LIKE YOU CARES A WHOLE AWFUL LOT, NOTHING IS GOING TO GET BETTER IT'S NOT - Dr. Seuss
Mountain goat
Mountain Goats are native ungulates in British Columbia, primarily inhabiting coastal and interior alpine regions, including steep cliffs, rugged mountains, and high-elevation meadows. They are a regulated hunting species, prized for trophy hunting, and are managed carefully due to their specialized habitat and relatively low reproductive rates.
Yellow listed species
Human Health Hazard
Conservation Status
Syilx
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Description
The mountain goat is a compact, stocky ungulate with a heavy white coat, and a short tail 10-20 cm in length. Both male and female look similar with very muscular shoulders, short sharp horns and a beard under the chin. The coat is white but may appear grey, tan or reddish tan due to staining from dust baths. The horns, hooves and nose are black. Average mature male mountain goats weigh 80 to 100 kg, measure 165 cm in length and stand 101 cm tall at the shoulder. Average mature female mountain goats weigh 60 to 80 kg, measure 142 cm in length and stand 89 cm tall at the shoulder.
Habitat
They inhabit alpine and subalpine regions, favoring rocky cliffs, ridges, and ledges that provide protection from predators. Goats use high-elevation meadows and snowfields for foraging and may move seasonally to access areas with less snow and better vegetation.
Food
Mountain Goats are herbivorous browsers, feeding on grasses, sedges, mosses, lichens, and alpine shrubs. Seasonal diet shifts occur depending on availability of vegetation, with alpine grasses and forbs consumed in summer and woody browse and lichens in winter.
Social System, Activity & Movements
The home range of a mountain goat herd is typically nine kilometers of connecting mountain ridges. There can be numerous herds of goats on various watersheds of a single large mountain range.
Reproduction & Parental Care
Breeding occurs in late autumn, with females giving birth to 1 kid after a 6-month gestation in spring, usually on steep, inaccessible slopes to avoid predation. The nanny provides sole parental care, nursing the kid and teaching it to navigate rugged terrain until it becomes independent at several months of age.
Natural Mortality & Predators
Mountain goats in the wild can live up to 14 years. Lifespan is limited by wear on the teeth from coarse feed and grit. When the teeth wear to the gum, starvation can occur. The greatest natural threats to mountain goats are starvation in late winter, avalanches, falls from steep cliffs and predation. Natural predators include grizzly, black bear, wolves, wolverine and cougar. Golden eagles can knock small new-born kids off rocky ledges.