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| | Mountain goat (Latin: Oreamnos americanus) is the even-toed ungulate of Bovidae family.
Mountain goat is a mountain animal, inhabits in remote places, beyond the boundaries of tree line & are found at an altitude of more than 3000m above sea level in summers. Mountain goat eats grass and lichens & can withstand the freezing winters of down to -40°С. Mountain goats are found in small herds. Mating of mountain goats take place in November-December & give birth in May-June, often only one kid & very rare two.
Mountain goat is under protection. However, despite relatively small number, threat due to inaccessibility of habitat is insignificant.
Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) makes an impression of massive dense animal. Length of the body is 150-175 cm, height is 90-105 cm & weight 80—135 kg. Bent spine line is characteristic for mountain goats due to raised mane of withers & powerful croup. Head of the mountain goat is long & eyes are small, located close under the horns. Horns are small & slightly bent backwards. In winters, horns & hoof are black & grey in summers. Wool is white, lengthy & very dense; especially long wool is found on back of head, withers, sacrum & upper half of the legs. Undercoat (“fur”) is very thin & light. In the past, when mountain goats were huge in numbers, American - Indians collected molted wool from cliffs & made yearn out of it, which was very costly. Mountain goats inhabit only Rocky Mountains of North America. Presently, the mountain goats are preserved almost exclusively in the natural reserves of USA, where only 1200 goals live & Canada, where about 2000 goals live. Mountain goats are acclimatized on Baranof Island & Kodiak near Alaska. Most part of the year, mountain goats live above tree line & lead a settled way of life & stay at a single place for months together. As an exception for short period, usually in the beginning of summer, the mountain goats come down into forests to saline soil. Possessing improbable rock-climbing capability, mountain goats climb absolutely steep rocks with hardly appreciable ledges and cornices; it seems absolutely unclear as how such large animals can hold there. Mountain goats move very slowly, lazy & seldom jump. If the mountain goats jump, they usually jump downwards & sometimes for 6 - 7 m onto hardly noticeable, quite often ice-covered ledge. If the area of ledge is very small onto which the mountain goat has jumped, it does not try to stay on the ledge but instead pushes away from it & jumps onto the next ledge sometime making almost a 180° turn in air. In case of dangers, the mountain goat does not take a full gallop, as other mountain goats, and it slowly leaves & it is possible to follow it from behind for a long time without losing it from sight. Possibly, no other animal exist, which can so absolutely adapt to life in cliffs. It is no mere coincidence that all the animals leave the upper belt of Rocky Mountains in winters, except mountain goats. Mountain goats hardly have enemies & only pumas occasionally dare to attack the mountain goats in summers but the mountain goats protect themselves from the attacks using sharp horns and throwing the predator from cornice. Cases of attacks by grizzly bears, black bears & wolves on mountain goats are possible only when the mountain goats move in valley to saline soil. Kids are attacked by white-headed sea eagles. Mountains goats move alone or in small groups and majority portion of time, males and females with kids separately. During rut time, which occurs in November, the male finds group of females and joins it. Presence of two males is possible sometimes in small herd of females but the males keep some distance from each other. At this time, usually snow-white wool of males has dirty stains on belly and thighs. This happens since the excited males sit like dogs on hind legs and throw dirt on belly and sides by digging “rut pits” using front legs. Goats mark the rocks & cliffs with the help of secretion of glands, located, as in the case of chamois, at the back of horns. In mountain goats, female goat stands above the male in hierarchy list and during rut period, male pursues behind female on half- bent legs & with stick-out tongue, in pose, expressing humility & submission. Then, the male approaches her with ritual “hit while running”. If the male misbehaves, as wished by female, then the female beats the male under belly using horns. During the encounter of males in the rut period, they stand side by side with heads looking different ways, stretch on legs, bend their back & raise their wool demonstrating their power. If such demonstration does not yield to peace solution of “Who’s stronger?”, then males start to make rounds around each other, keeping mutual position & try to hit the hind legs or sides with horns. Often, such fights quickly come to an end without blood, but sometimes goats nevertheless inflict each other heavy & even deadly wounds. One or two kids are born in April-June. Within few hours of birth, the kids can already walk along the cornice behind the mothers. It is completely banned to hunt mountain goats. In the last century, people hunted mountain goats only for the sake of skins & exclusively thin, soft and light-weight wool.
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