Vincent Van Goat
Vincent Van Gogh once said, “If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Nature is beautiful… and mountain goats are especially beautiful!
Just as my name might mislead you a bit (I am not a Dutch impressionist painter), the mountain goat name is a bit misleading. Despite its name, the mountain goat is not a member of the genus Capra that includes other goats. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae that includes sheep and antelopes.
One thing I love about mountain goats is that they just do not seem to care what people think about them. They are just trying to live their best lives in the mountains of North America.
Mountain Goat Survival
Where do I live? Anywhere I can.
Mountain goats traditionally live in the Rockies, from Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia, all the way up to Alaska. But climate change can also greatly affect mountain goats: they are adapted to cold weather, and higher temperatures drive mountain goats further up the mountain and reduce their livable habitat. Forest fires and flying aircrafts also disrupt their habitat.
In parts of Canada and Washington, goats can be hunted by permit. Olympic National Park has also begun a goat relocation program, moving goats by helicopter from the Olympic Peninsula, where they are not a native species, to the North Cascades.
Mountain goats belong in the mountains, and I think we need to make sure to protect the mountains where they live so that they can continue to thrive. The goats aren’t trying to bother anyone in the Olympic Peninsula— they’re just trying to survive. Check out a few links about relocation efforts below:
Mountain Goat Attacks
Mountain goats are naturally wary of humans, but have been known to attack hikers, especially in overcrowded parks. Sometimes, mountain goats will go after humans to get their food. Mountain goats are herbivores and spend most of their time grazing. Their diets include grasses, mosses, leaves, and twigs from shrubs and conifers in their mountainous habitat… but they could always be tempted by a tasty treat that a human brings. Mountain goats always do what they want, and do not seem to care how people react to them.
Mountain Goats Are Cool!
But don’t let anything about relocation or attacks make you forget that mountain goats are a beautiful part of nature. Their white coats blend in beautifully with the snowy scenery… They have fur much thicker than that of domestic goats, and have two woolly coats, with the white color providing camouflage in the snow. The white coat is shed in warmer weather; mountain goats are always ready to adapt to new settings and figure out their place in their environment.