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Mountain Goat
Oreamnos americanus
48.7596, -113.787
Field Notes
Description:
These large animals have a shaggy whitish coat, short curved black horns and powerful limbs. Their hooves have a hard rim, but a soft, tennis-shoe like sole, all the better to grip slippery rock surfaces in the cliffs they inhabit. In late fall, these animals grow incredibly warm coat of hair and survive bone-numbing temperatures and high winds for a very long winter.
Habitat:
Mountain goats typically live high above the treelines in mountains. They prefer steep, rocky cliffs where they find refuge from large carnivores such as bears and mountain lions.
Notes:
These animals are amazing mountaineers. They will climb out onto a rock face gripping tiny rock protrusions and nibble on tiny plants and lichens. A misstep could send them hurtling thousands of feet, yet they are seemingly at ease with heights and precarious footholds. They leave me, sometimes, gasping and sweaty-palmed.
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