My Colorado Goat Hunt
- Thread starter SDBugler
- Start date
zadvorney
Member
That was a great story. Congrats on getting the goat you wanted. It was made more special because your boy sighted them first. Just awsome.
Very cool , SD. Congrats on a great hunt and a great adventure with your son that you will never forget.
Brisco
New member
What a year for you and your son thanks for sharing it was a great hunt report!
arffdog875
New member
Congrats on an awesome billy! Thank you for sharing a great story!
warmer
Well-known member
Great story and great goat. What part of SD do you live? I would like to check out the job your taxi does on your goat.
Mikeflies
New member
Great year for tags, great hunt for you & your son, & even a better story & pic's. Congrats all the way around.
DRAFTSTUD
Well-known member
Oreamnos Americanus
(Mountain Goats)
Antelopes not goats
Despite their appearance, Mountain Goats (Oreamnos Americanus) aren’t really goats. They are members of the antelope family, a group that also includes related species such as Musk Ox and Mountain Sheep. Their beard is not a true beard like that in male goats, but rather an extension of the mane. Mountain Goats are descended from goat-antelopes called Goral and Serow. Their closest living relative is the Chamois of the Alps. As their Latin name suggests, Mountain Goats are unique to the western part of North America.
Mountain Goats range from Alaska and the Yukon in the north, to the mountains of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Colorado in the south. This alpine species prefers to dwell on rocky, windswept slopes with little snow.
While occasionally found within the same range as Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats are distinguished by their humped shoulders, hollow black horns (which they keep year-round), black muzzles, and double beards. Their wool consists of a three inch undercoat and thick guard hairs as much as seven inches long. The guard hairs grow in mats along the back and shoulders. These long hairs end rather abruptly eight inches above the hoof, which is said to resemble someone wearing "pantaloons". Their thick winter wool is shed during the spring, to be replaced by a yellowish summer coat.
Adult mountain goats are 3-4 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 300 pounds. Their 12 inch horns are thin and slightly curved. Males’ horns are slightly thicker but are otherwise indistinguishable from those of the female. Scent glands behind the horns produce an oil that is used as a scent marker.
Beginning at the age of 22 months, it is possible to tell the age of a mountain goat by counting the number of rings on his horns. The horns continue to grow throughout the mountain goat's lifetime new ring is added every spring. Mountain Goats may live to be 12 years old, although many die before they reach maturity.
Lifestyle
Female Mountain Goats are called "Nannies" and male Moutain Goats are called "Billies" (as in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"). Nanny goats stay in one range, while billy goats wander. Mountain goats live together in larger groups during the winter, but tend to be solitary in summer and autumn.
Mountain Goats are ruminants, meaning they chew on cud (similar to cows) which is then passed through multiple stomachs. Their diet includes alpine grasses, flowers, hemlock, trees and shrubs. During the winter months they will come down from the mountains into the valleys in pursuit of food or minerals.
Mountain Goats are prone to stomach worms.
Although the fossil record is poor, Mountain Goats are thought to have arrived across the land bridge in Alaska in the early Pleistocene Era, approximately 100,000 years ago. The species gradually moved further south at the head of the glaciers. The fossilized remains of mountain goats have been found as far south as Arizona and New Mexico. As the Ice Age receded, the mountain goats began to move further north. The southern limit of their range is marked by average temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mountain Goats were "discovered" in 1811 by Alexander Henry.
Mountain Goats are well adapted to living on rocky cliffs. Their hoofs have special pads that provide the animals with extra traction and prevent them from skidding on the rocks. The pads act just like a suction cup when weight is applied.
A mountain goat’s hoofs have hard sharp edges surrounding a soft inner area. The sharp hoofs are also used for defense. There are four hoofs per foot, two of which strike the ground. The two halves of a mountain goat’s hoof can move independently of one another, enabling it to get a better grip while climbing.
Violent behavior
Mountain Goats have an aggressive social structure. The goats often push and shove each other –sometimes falling off cliffs. Adults will sometimes lift smaller goats and toss them, although the victims usually manage to catch themselves.
In Alberta, biologists Francois Fournier and Marco Festa-Bianchet found that Mountain Goats have an average of 3-4 conflicts per goat, per hour, throughout the entire year –and 5 or 6 conflicts per hour are quite common! Bighorn Sheep, on the other hand, only experience conflict once every 2-3 hours during the mating season –despite their reputation for continually butting-heads.
Mountain goats do not butt heads. Instead they poke each other in the hindquarters or on the backside. As a result of this constant fighting, male mountain goats have developed an extra-thick layer of skin to protect their behinds.
Biologists think that this aggressive behavior among mountain goats encourages the herds to disperse. Small bands of half-a-dozen animals have a better chance of survival in harsh conditions where food is scarce.
Nannies are most often the aggressors in these conflicts. Nanny goats will lay claim to the best cliffs on which to feed and produce their young.
The Facts of Life
Mountain Goats breed in the fall and give birth six months later in the spring. Males fight for the females, sometimes inflicting fatal wounds. After giving birth, females will spend 10 days "nesting" with their newborns under overhanging rocks or in caves. It is fairly common to have twins. Young mountain goats -"kids"- are able to climb within a few days of being born. The nanny goats raise their young on cliffs and rocky ledges in order to protect them from predators. Kids reach sexual maturity after 30 months.
The passion for destruction
Mountain Goats have few natural enemies aside from Man. Golden Eagles will occasionally eat kids, but this is rare. Mountain lions will sometimes attack mountain goats when they come down into the valleys. But most deaths occur as a result of rockslides or avalanches. Mountain goats will occasionally fall to their deaths. Poaching also takes its on the population. A legal hunting season exists in some areas.
Mountain Goats have recently been introduced into several new ranges including the Black Hills, Nevada and Utah. In some places, the goats have proven to be quite destructive. In Colorado, a herd of mountain goats is gradually displacing the Big Horn sheep, while another herd introduced in the Olympic National Forest is threatening rare plants with their bedding depressions and causing the burrows of mountain beaver to cave-in.
There are approximately 100,000 mountain goats remaining in North America. Hunting has greatly reduced their numbers in some regions. British Columbia has the largest population by far. Including three sub-species: Oreamnos Americanus Columbianos, Oreamnos Americanus Missoulae, and Oreamnos Americanus Americanus. Biologists distinguish between the three sub-species based on the skull size and cranium.
(Mountain Goats)
Antelopes not goats
Despite their appearance, Mountain Goats (Oreamnos Americanus) aren’t really goats. They are members of the antelope family, a group that also includes related species such as Musk Ox and Mountain Sheep. Their beard is not a true beard like that in male goats, but rather an extension of the mane. Mountain Goats are descended from goat-antelopes called Goral and Serow. Their closest living relative is the Chamois of the Alps. As their Latin name suggests, Mountain Goats are unique to the western part of North America.
Mountain Goats range from Alaska and the Yukon in the north, to the mountains of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Colorado in the south. This alpine species prefers to dwell on rocky, windswept slopes with little snow.
While occasionally found within the same range as Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats are distinguished by their humped shoulders, hollow black horns (which they keep year-round), black muzzles, and double beards. Their wool consists of a three inch undercoat and thick guard hairs as much as seven inches long. The guard hairs grow in mats along the back and shoulders. These long hairs end rather abruptly eight inches above the hoof, which is said to resemble someone wearing "pantaloons". Their thick winter wool is shed during the spring, to be replaced by a yellowish summer coat.
Adult mountain goats are 3-4 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 300 pounds. Their 12 inch horns are thin and slightly curved. Males’ horns are slightly thicker but are otherwise indistinguishable from those of the female. Scent glands behind the horns produce an oil that is used as a scent marker.
Beginning at the age of 22 months, it is possible to tell the age of a mountain goat by counting the number of rings on his horns. The horns continue to grow throughout the mountain goat's lifetime new ring is added every spring. Mountain Goats may live to be 12 years old, although many die before they reach maturity.
Lifestyle
Female Mountain Goats are called "Nannies" and male Moutain Goats are called "Billies" (as in "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"). Nanny goats stay in one range, while billy goats wander. Mountain goats live together in larger groups during the winter, but tend to be solitary in summer and autumn.
Mountain Goats are ruminants, meaning they chew on cud (similar to cows) which is then passed through multiple stomachs. Their diet includes alpine grasses, flowers, hemlock, trees and shrubs. During the winter months they will come down from the mountains into the valleys in pursuit of food or minerals.
Mountain Goats are prone to stomach worms.
Although the fossil record is poor, Mountain Goats are thought to have arrived across the land bridge in Alaska in the early Pleistocene Era, approximately 100,000 years ago. The species gradually moved further south at the head of the glaciers. The fossilized remains of mountain goats have been found as far south as Arizona and New Mexico. As the Ice Age receded, the mountain goats began to move further north. The southern limit of their range is marked by average temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mountain Goats were "discovered" in 1811 by Alexander Henry.
Mountain Goats are well adapted to living on rocky cliffs. Their hoofs have special pads that provide the animals with extra traction and prevent them from skidding on the rocks. The pads act just like a suction cup when weight is applied.
A mountain goat’s hoofs have hard sharp edges surrounding a soft inner area. The sharp hoofs are also used for defense. There are four hoofs per foot, two of which strike the ground. The two halves of a mountain goat’s hoof can move independently of one another, enabling it to get a better grip while climbing.
Violent behavior
Mountain Goats have an aggressive social structure. The goats often push and shove each other –sometimes falling off cliffs. Adults will sometimes lift smaller goats and toss them, although the victims usually manage to catch themselves.
In Alberta, biologists Francois Fournier and Marco Festa-Bianchet found that Mountain Goats have an average of 3-4 conflicts per goat, per hour, throughout the entire year –and 5 or 6 conflicts per hour are quite common! Bighorn Sheep, on the other hand, only experience conflict once every 2-3 hours during the mating season –despite their reputation for continually butting-heads.
Mountain goats do not butt heads. Instead they poke each other in the hindquarters or on the backside. As a result of this constant fighting, male mountain goats have developed an extra-thick layer of skin to protect their behinds.
Biologists think that this aggressive behavior among mountain goats encourages the herds to disperse. Small bands of half-a-dozen animals have a better chance of survival in harsh conditions where food is scarce.
Nannies are most often the aggressors in these conflicts. Nanny goats will lay claim to the best cliffs on which to feed and produce their young.
The Facts of Life
Mountain Goats breed in the fall and give birth six months later in the spring. Males fight for the females, sometimes inflicting fatal wounds. After giving birth, females will spend 10 days "nesting" with their newborns under overhanging rocks or in caves. It is fairly common to have twins. Young mountain goats -"kids"- are able to climb within a few days of being born. The nanny goats raise their young on cliffs and rocky ledges in order to protect them from predators. Kids reach sexual maturity after 30 months.
The passion for destruction
Mountain Goats have few natural enemies aside from Man. Golden Eagles will occasionally eat kids, but this is rare. Mountain lions will sometimes attack mountain goats when they come down into the valleys. But most deaths occur as a result of rockslides or avalanches. Mountain goats will occasionally fall to their deaths. Poaching also takes its on the population. A legal hunting season exists in some areas.
Mountain Goats have recently been introduced into several new ranges including the Black Hills, Nevada and Utah. In some places, the goats have proven to be quite destructive. In Colorado, a herd of mountain goats is gradually displacing the Big Horn sheep, while another herd introduced in the Olympic National Forest is threatening rare plants with their bedding depressions and causing the burrows of mountain beaver to cave-in.
There are approximately 100,000 mountain goats remaining in North America. Hunting has greatly reduced their numbers in some regions. British Columbia has the largest population by far. Including three sub-species: Oreamnos Americanus Columbianos, Oreamnos Americanus Missoulae, and Oreamnos Americanus Americanus. Biologists distinguish between the three sub-species based on the skull size and cranium.
MTGunner
Well-known member
SDBugler, great story and a great goat. Tough hunting, but the rewards are better than most consider. To get to hunt with your son was/is a defining moment in both of your lives. Again, great story. MTG
gjflyfisherman
Member
Great hunting story
This was great story and an excellent reason why I hunt and live in Colorado!
This was great story and an excellent reason why I hunt and live in Colorado!
pseshooter300
Member
That is some amazing country you are very lucky
