Mountain Goats

January 8, 2001

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Mountain Goat Facts

Mountain Goat Habitat

Mountain Goat Family Life

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Where can you find Rocky Mountain goats?
Mountain goats live in the United States and Canada. In Idaho, most goat populations are located in the central part of the state.

Mountain Goats can be found in the steep rocky areas of the White Clouds, the Sawtooths, Seven Devils, and Bitterroot Mountains. The Selkirk Range in Northern Idaho also plays host to Mountain goats.

Scientific Name Oreamnos Americanus

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area has many opportunities to view Mountain Goats. Scientists in this area are studying the effect winter recreational activities are having on the population of Mountain Goats in the area.

Find out how goats survive in this harsh environment they call home.

Identifying Mountain Goats
Mountain Goats are about three and a half feet tall at the shoulder, and weigh between 150 and 220 pounds. Or about the same weight as a grown man.

It can be difficult telling the difference between males and the females, unless you're a keen observer of their behavior.

Males are called
billies.

Females are called nannies.

Baby goats are called kids.

A Group of Mountain Goats is called a Band.

Males and female goats look about the same, but males are slightly larger than females and billies spend a lot of time alone, while nannies live in small groups with the youngsters.

A group of Mountain goats is called a band. The number in a band will change frequently. A healthy population of goats will have goats of all ages. Again, though, the billies often tend to be loners. Sometimes they even form their own bands.

Queen of the Hill
Each mountain goat has a rank. Rank determines who gets the best sleeping and feeding spots and who gets to use the salt licks first. Usually the larger nannies are at the top of the ladder. Interestingly enough, the kids rank the same as their mothers. If a billy goat happens to be around, he ranks the lowest of all, except during breeding season.