New Year's Babies: Mountain Goat

I think Mountain Goats are one of Nature's most beautiful and fascinating animals. They can climb cliffs that are 80 degrees or more.

And it doesn't take long for the little ones to learn how.

Here are some of my favorite Mountain Goat babies:

Wildlife at Yellowstone National Park - VI

Can I get excited about seeing wildlife at Yellowstone National Park even though I can't really get a good photo?

You betcha.

I mentioned a couple of days ago about Bighorn Sheep at Barronette Peak out past Lamar Valley and near the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. I suspect less than one tenth of one percent of Yellowstone's visitor's drive by Barronette Peak. And, I'll bet that few of those stop to look. But it's a great look. And, frequently you can find Bighorn Sheep -- or, Mountain Goats. 

I drove out one morning hoping to find Mountain Goats. I arrived at the pullout; stopped the car; got out; and within five seconds of scanning the mountain, spotted a small herd of Mountain Goats. As you can see, it's hard to see the Mountain Goats from the first photo (using a 35 mm lens). Even after walking up that path to a ledge overlooking the river in front of the mountain, and using my 400 millimeter lens (the second photo) it's not easy. But they are there, right in the middle of the photo.

Since I've gotten very close to Mountain Goats in the past I wasn't disappointed not being able to do so this time. I was just in awe of these beautiful and amazing animals.

Mountain Goats

Mountain Goats

Columbia Icefields Mountain Goat

About 70 miles south of Jasper you come to the Columbia Icefields. The Icefields is a flat "straightaway"  that varies between 100 to 300 yards wide and runs for several miles. It gets an average of 275 inches of snowfall per year. There are eight major glaciers feeding the Icefields. There are eleven mountains all of about 12,000 feet lining both sides of the Icefields. 

The Icefield sits atop a "triple" Continental Divide. The Athabasca River, the North Saskatchewan River, and the tributaries of the Columbia River all originate in the Columbia Icefield. So, the Columbia River  eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean dividing Washington State from Oregon. The Athabasca River ultimately arrives in the Arctic Ocean and the Saskatchewan ultimately in the Hudson Bay and thus North Atlantic Ocean. This is the Canadian Rockies at its finest. 

The road that parallels the icefield at times is right next to the icefield and at times a 1000 feet above.

This is a favorite place of mine. I have seen Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, Caribou, Moose, and Coyotes among others along the Icefields.

Here is a close-up of a Mountain Goat nearly 1,000 feet above: 

Glacier National Park Mountain Goat Waterfall

Continuing with my "5" Star Photos in general and Mountain Goats in particular we come to a photo taken in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Sometimes on the way to a specific place where you expect -- well, hope -- to see a particular animal you see it "unexpectedly." 

Such was the case while traveling over the Going-To-The-Sun Highway. It's not that I wasn't expecting to see a Mountain Goat. After all, they are in the area. It's just that the road is so traveled that I didn't expect to see one so close to the road. 

But, just over the summit, there were three Mountain Goats, feeding on the grassy hillside. But what got my attention was they appeared to be head toward a waterfall. So, I am thinking that would be a great photo.  I was traveling with my in-laws and asked them to drop me off while they looked for a parking place. They thoughtfully and graciously did so.

I set up my tripod pointing the camera directly at the waterfall. Then I waited. And, once again I was not disappointed. 

I mean how cool is this?

Finding Mountain Goats Part II

Sometimes being far away gives you an amazing perspective of the ability of specialized animals. This Mountain Goat scaled this cliff (which must have been close to an 80 degree angle) as if walking down the sidewalk.

Walton Goat Lick Overlook, Glacier National Park, Montana

And, sometimes roads take you up into the mountains where viewing and photographing become easier -- that is if you are there at the right time --- i.e. "lucky."  

Above the Columbia Icefields, Alberta, Canada

Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana

Weeping Wall, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Weeping Wall, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

sleeping Through it All: Part II

Here are some of the other photos of mammals laying down:

Elk: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Javelina: Our Bed and Breakfast

Moose: Near Maligne Lake, Alberta, Canada

Mountain Goats: Mount Evans, Colorado

Mule Deer: Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

Pronghorn: Eagle Creek, Arizona

White Tail Deer: Mt. Elden, Arizona

Advent Calendar - December 28th

Well, I am going to cheat a bit today. It wasn't December, but actually April. However, April in the Canadian Rockies is like December in many places -- like Mount Lemmon today here in Tucson. This Mountain Goat, one of my favorite wild animals, and one of the most beautiful, was willing to pose for me.   I was able to get to it from above so you could see some of the mountain terrain below. You can see that she is just starting to shed her winter coat. Mountain Goats need to be respected and approached very quietly and carefully without arm movements. Once she saw I meant no harm she continued to eat the little patches of vegetation that was exposed by the melting snow.

Mountain Goat in Canadian Rockies

Hoofed Animal Babies

Bighorn sheep are most vulnerable when young. Predation primarily occurs with lambs which are hunted by Coyotes, Bobcats, Lynxes, Bears, Wolves, and Mountain Lions. Golden Eagles will also try to cause lambs to fall from great height. Adults are more dangerous and predation is generally restricted to Mountain Lions.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Lambs

Mountain Goats occur at higher elevations and in colder climates and thus their predators are fewer in number. They will come down from higher elevations in the Spring to look for "salt licks". This is when they are most vulnerable to predation. But, as a general rule they spend most of their time at higher elevations than their predators. Even still, like with the Bighorn Sheep lambs, Golden Eagles will try to cause the lambs to fall to their death.

Mountain Goat with Kid

Mothers with Babies (or sometimes dads): Mountain Goat

In the wild, mountain goats usually live twelve to fifteen years. "Kids" are born in late spring after a six month gestation period. Nannies give birth, usually to a single offspring, after moving to an isolated ledge; post-partum, they lick the baby dry and ingest the placenta. Kids weigh a little over 3 kg (7 lb) at birth and begin to run and climb (or attempt to do so) within hours. Although they are mostly weaned within one month, kids follow their mothers closely for the first year of life (or until the nanny gives birth again, if this does not occur the next breeding season); nannies protect their young by leading them out of danger, standing over them when faced by predators, and positioning themselves below their kids on steep slopes to stop free falls. Mountain goats reach sexual maturity at about thirty months. Nannies in a herd undergo synchronized estrus in late October through early December, at which time males and females participate in a mating ritual. Mature billies will stare at nannies for long periods, dig rutting pits, and fight each other in showy (though occasionally dangerous) scuffles. Young billies sometimes try to participate, but they are ignored by nannies; nannies will also sometimes pursue inattentive billies. Both males and females usually mate with multiple individuals during breeding season, although some billies try to keep other males away from certain nannies. After the breeding season is over, males and females move away from each other, with the adult billies breaking up into small bands of two or three individuals. Nannies form loose-knit nursery groups of up to 50 animals.

Mountain Goat Nanny with Kid

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-VII

Sometimes on the way to a specific place where you expect -- well, hope -- to see a particular animal you see it unexpectedly. Such was the case while traveling over the Going-To-The-Sun Highway (Glacier National Park). It's not that I wasn't expecting to see a Mountain Goat. After all, they are in the area. It's just that the road is so traveled that I didn't expect to see one so close to the road. But, just over the summit, there were three Mountain Goats, feeding on the grassy hillside. But what got my attention was they appeared to be head toward a waterfall. So, I am thinking that will be a photo.  I was traveling with my in-laws and asked them to drop me off while they looked for a parking place. They thoughtfully and graciously did so. Here was the result:

Nice background. Luck brought me to the right spot at the right time.

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-VI

The Columbia Icefields has brought me a lot of luck. Here are several photos taken at various times from various mountains along the Icefields: In the first photo I am above the Mountain Goat looking down. In the background you can see far below the tops of 150 foot fir trees.

The next photo is a close-up of the previous photo:

In the following photo taken a little later in the year you can see the Mountain Goat beginning to shed his coat. Again I am above looking down. In this case we are very near the tree line.

Here, above the tree line, I was fairly close, but the Mountain Goat was distracted be something to my right.

Here I am below the Mountain Goat who is a thousand feet or more below the tree line. While he is a the ledge, the drop is only about 30 feet to where I am standing:

This next one is one of my favorites. He looks so regal. If the African Lion is the "King of the Jungle" then the Mountain Goat is "King of the Mountain." As a general rule Mountain Goats stay far above the range of its potential predator the Mountain Lion. Most Mountain Goat deaths come from Golden Eagles that fly close enough to cause Mountain Goats to lose their footing. (True more of the young goats or kids than adults).

And lastly, quite close and showing off his beautiful coat:

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-V

Finding Mountains Goats with their young kids is a delight. Baby animals are just like baby humans, they are cute, playful, and cuddly. About 70 miles south of Jasper you come to the Columbia Icefields. The Icefields is a flat "straightaway"  that varies between 100 to 300 yards wide and runs for several miles. It gets an average of 275 inches of snowfall per year. There are eight major glaciers feeding the Icefields. There are eleven mountains all of about 12,000 feet lining both sides of the Icefields. The Icefield sits atop a "triple" Continental Divide. The Athabasca River and the North Saskatchewan River and the tributaries of the Columbia River all originate in the Columbia Icefield. So, the Columbia River  eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean dividing Washington State from Oregon. The Athabasca River ultimately arrives in the Arctic Ocean and the Saskatchewan ultimately in the Hudson Bay and thus North Atlantic Ocean. This is the Canadian Rockies at its finest. You have a clear view of the Athabasca Glacier from the road that parallels the Icefields. I once saw a big Bull Moose casually strolling down the middle of the Icefields, but I'll leave that to another day. And, if you recall, I told you of the story of the Coyote strolling down the middle of the Icefields just a couple weeks ago. On another occasion, though,  I stopped along side the road and got out to admire the scenery. At the very top of one mountain cliff I saw what looked like a Mountain Goat. I got out my binoculars and confirmed the sighting. So, I decided this would be a great place for lunch. I made myself a sandwich, cottage cheese, chips, poured a drink and waited. After an hour, and a delicious sandwich, I took another look through the binoculars. Not only had the Mountain Goat come halfway down the cliff, I now could clearly see a baby carefully descending the cliff behind its mom. After another hour wait, the Mountain Goat and Kid arrived at the bottom, providing me wonderful photos and memories:

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-IV

Occasionally, Mountain Goats will find a "mineral lick" which then becomes an annual trek and gives photographers (and tourists) an opportunity to see these magnificent animals. I am sure there is a physiological explanation -- maybe like our taking vitamins -- but the soil in these areas is rich in minerals.  One such "mineral lick" is just past Athabasca Falls about 20 miles south of Jasper, Alberta. Like all animals you want to respect them -- and their deadly ability to defend themselves and their offspring. And, again the answer is make sure the animal knows you are present and are not interested in harming them in any way. Maintain a safe distance and viola:

I love how the young kid's face is more round, while the adult is more elongated. This is also true of Moose. If this young kid wasn't white, you could easily think it was a Bison calf.

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-III

Sometimes you get lucky. I had made the trip up Mount Evans, Colorado several times looking for Mountain Goats. But this time I was lucky. I came across about 50 Mountain Goats in a meadow at about 13,000 feet. I not only could see them, but could hike down into the meadow to get close. This requires some forethought. Not just which is the easiest route, but which is the least likely to disturb the Goats as I transcend the mountain. A very slow serpentine pattern seemed to be the best course of action. After about 20 minutes I got close enough to get a dozen or so:

I continued my serpentine pattern until I got within about 25 - 30 feet away. Then sat down on a rock (similar to the ones you see in the first photo). Once I was sitting, they seemed quite comfortable and actually decided to sit as well:

After another 30 minutes some of the little "kids" got up and started walking around. Not any closer toward me -- but, wandering as kids do. This was my favorite photo of the day:

You can't really tell from the photo but the kids are on the edge, and between them and the large rocks behind them is a drop of a thousand feet or more. I loved all the wildflowers, even though it was 2500 feet above the treeline.

HOOFED MAMMALS: Mountain Goat Stories-II

The search for Mountain Goats requires some research and prior planning. First, they are only found in North America and were historically only in the Cascade and Rocky Mountain Ranges in the lower 48. Populations have been introduced into the Olympic Mountains in Washington, and in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado with moderate success. But those populations are fairly small. As a general rule Mountain Goats stay above the tree line but will migrate to lower elevations at times during the year. When above the tree line it becomes problematic to get close enough for a good photo. I thought I would show you some of those challenges today. All of these photos were taken with a 400 mm super telephoto lens. First, is at Grays Peak in Colorado. You can barely see an adult Mountain Goat with a kid right on the skyline. In the lower part of the photo you can see three other Mountain Goats:

In the next photo, taken at Torrey Mountain, Colorado you can see six Mountain Goats foraging on vegetation in the middle of the photo. 

In the next photo taken in Yellowstone, you almost have to trust me. There is a single Mountain Goat in the very center of the photo. The larger "white" spots are snow. 

Okay, maybe you can't see it. I'll zoom in closer. I left the patch of snow in so you could get the Mountain Goat's position better:

The next photo is a herd of maybe 10-15 foraging on a grassy shelf. The photo is from Mount Coleman in Alberta.

My intent in showing these photos is not just to tell the story of how difficult it can be finding certain animals, but also getting close enough once you do find them to get a good photo.