I was starting to get a little nervous. It was walking straight toward us, showing no sign of fear or anger. Tromp, tromp went its black hooves on the loose rock, and its pointy black horns stood out sharply against its white fur. Do mountain goats attack with those nasty-looking horns? But I wasn’t nervous enough to get out of the way, especially since this mountain goat had such a funny facial expression. Surely, a goat would not be aggressive? It came right up to us and passed in front of us as we watched it from the edge of the trail.
The day was perfect for a hike. Despite the whipping wind, the sun shone brightly, and no clouds threatened us with rain. My family and I were in Glacier National Park in Montana, headed toward Gunsight Lake. The square-topped gray mountains towered around us, and the views of Jackson Glacier to the left made the length and difficulty of the hike worthwhile.
After about 7 miles (11 km) through the wilderness, we arrived on the pebbly shores of Gunsight Lake. Its mint-colored waters stretched before us, and glacier-carved cliffs rose around the lake. We enjoyed the brief rest before heading farther along the trail.
Now the trail began to wind up the side of a steep mountain slope. Soon the trees thinned out. On one side, tall cliffs towered above us. On our right, the slope plummeted into Gunsight Lake. We could now see the whole lake, and I noted that it did look something like the sight of a gun. Plants were sparse. Many broken rocks scattered over the trail made us more careful about our balance on the narrow mountain path. Our calves burned with the effort as we climbed up and up, heading toward the notch in the distant mountains known as Gunsight Pass.
All the while, we kept our eyes peeled for mountain goats. The habitat looked right—sparse vegetation and rocky cliffs. Then, suddenly, we saw a goat climb down onto the trail ahead of us. Undisturbed at our presence, it loped along the trail toward us, totally at ease. Breathlessly, we moved aside and let the beautiful creature pass. Later we saw several other goats, including a few kids!
I assumed that, since these mountain goats probably saw people rarely, they didn’t mind sharing the trail with them once in a while. I guess it was easier for them to walk on the trail than to climb over the mountains all the time! I couldn’t believe we had seen mountain goats at such close range.
Although I had imagined them to be much bigger, mountain goats are not much larger than the domestic goats you might see on a farm. However, their coats are much shaggier than those of domestic goats. Males and females are hard to tell apart. Both have horns, but a female’s horns do not grow as long as a male’s horns.
Their preferred habitat is tall mountains above the tree line—the elevation above which trees cannot grow. You can find this habitat in northwestern United States, Canada, and Alaska.
Mountain goats are extremely nimble on steep cliffs and high outcroppings of rock. In fact, I noticed with amazement how easily the mountain goats we saw could perch on jutting rocks above a drop-off of thousands of feet!
God created mountain goats with amazing hooves to allow them to balance on high mountain ledges. The outer edge of each hoof is hard, while the inner part is softer and flexible. The pads are rough, and this allows them to grip rocks tightly. The sharp pointed toes can dig into the ground. This design gives the mountain goat a sort of climbing shoe that allows it to grip steep, slippery surfaces.
Even with this incredible footwear, however, mountain goats still sometimes fall to their deaths. In addition to avalanches and landslides, dangers to mountain goats include Golden Eagles and mountain lions. Golden Eagles are the most formidable of these predators, driving kids off the edges of cliffs in order to kill and eat them.
Mountain goats must have a tough stomach and jaws! They feed on coarse plants such as sedges, as well as mosses and lichens.
The mountain goats we saw were traveling together. There were several adults and several kids. Usually, a female goat has only one kid in the spring. It has to be a brave little kid, because it is often born on a ledge! Wouldn’t that be a little scary? The babies we saw, though, didn’t seem nervous about walking on the edges of steep drop-offs.
When it is time for the kid to be born, the male goat makes a bed for the female where she can have her young. During most of the year, mountain goats travel separately—females in one herd and males in another.
As we hiked back down the trail, we felt so awed that God let us see such a rare and amazing creature! Sometimes it’s hard to take a long hike, but for those who keep their eyes peeled, there is always a reward.