With the ability to climb cliffs and walls without fear of falling, this strange animal uses its hooves as nimble pincers to quickly climb steep, vertical terrain. This goat-like, herbivorous mammal, belonging to the Bovidae family, Artiodactyla order, is often seen on the highest peaks in the Alps, Europe or the mountains of the US and Canada.
Mountain goats climb steep cliffs
Because they are herbivores, mountain goats often live in places with lots of grass and conifers. They need to absorb a certain amount of mineral salts for their bodies to function normally when lacking the necessary active ingredients from meat. Therefore, they find ways to climb the cliffs around the mountains to find this amount of mineral salts. Their rubber-padded feet and cloven hooves help them climb 50m high terrain quickly and with balance. In the spring, the mountain goats will lick the roads that have been treated with anti-freeze salt or chew mud.
On the other hand, Colorado mountain goats use their special ability to hide from predators. Thanks to this, animals such as leopards, bears, hyenas, and bobcats cannot reach these goats. However, no matter how high they climb, mountain goats cannot escape the North American raptor eagle. This bird deliberately drives mountain goats down deep ravines and then eats the remains.
Mountain goats live in high areas away from predators.
The mountain goat has a special set of hooves that help it climb any steep terrain. The mountain goat’s hooves are similar to the sabaton of medieval knights. The sabaton had no sole, it was a metal plate that sat on top of the knight’s shoe, creating a hard armored foot with a soft sole, around the edge of the sole would be the hard edge that touched the ground. The mountain goat combines the best elements of the best hooves/feet: its hooves have both a hard edge, a soft sole, and multiple toes for grip.
Additionally, the two separate toes can be spread out for easier footing, or closed together for a firmer grip. Once the foot is on the rock, the hooves ensure the goat cannot slip, no matter how rough the surface.
Mountain goat hunting tour
The mountain goat hunting season starts from early September until the end of December. However, towards the end of winter, the weather becomes more severe, making tracking difficult. If you persevere during this time, you can hunt the mountain goat with snow-white fur.
According to Kuiu, to prepare for a goat hunting tour, tourists must train themselves physically and mentally. Hunting mountain goats means spending hours climbing mountains, exposed to the sun and dew to track their targets. Mountain goats rarely leave the high mountain grasslands. Detecting a goat is not too difficult, because their snow-white fur can be seen from afar on the rocks and grasslands. Tracking is a problem. Mountain goats have extremely good observation and intuition to detect enemies.
"Goat hunting challenges the limits of the human body. You have to carry a lot of gear and hike in the 4,200m high mountains in Colorado or the seemingly endless 600m vertical forest in Kodiak," Kuiu wrote.
White fur and horns of a mountain goat.
Mountain goat hunting is a unique but dangerous experience. 2014 was a boom year for independent mountain goat hunting, so the Colorado mountain area had many fatal accidents. At North Maroon Peak, the Aspen Rescue Association discovered the body of a 42-year-old man who died while tracking mountain goats. He had successfully killed his prey and brought all the goat's fur and meat with him. However, just one wrong step and the man was forever lying at the bottom of the cliff.
The demand for mountain goat hunting is increasing along with the safety threats of this sport. Therefore, the website bookyourhunt, an agency specializing in organizing tourist hunting trips, has started to sell special mountain goat hunting tours. Tourists will join a hunting group of 6-7 people, accompanied by a skilled hunter. Bookyourhunt has 10 years of experience in this field, they know how to design a suitable hunting trip for tourists. Normally, a mountain goat hunting trip requires tourists to walk for 2-4 hours in nature.
Bookyourhunt sets up camps and separates stops so that even less active travelers can participate. There are currently around 100,000 mountain goats in North America, and that number is expected to increase as mountain goats are less vulnerable to conventional predators.
