Mountain goats are not really goats at all. They are a kind of mountain antelope more closely related to the chamois, the mountain antelope of Europe and Asia, than to farmyard goats. They are found only in the northwestern mountains of North America, from Idaho to the Yukon, the northern edge of their range. Estimates of the number of mountain goats in the Yukon range from 1300 to 1700, with more than half living in the Kluane National Park and adjacent Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary in the southwest Yukon.
The mountain goat feels safest in the most extreme mountain habitats, favouring cliffs and inaccessible rock faces that would leave most humans clinging dizzily to any available handhold. To a mountain goat, however, steep mountainsides well above treeline are a safe, predator-free home. The goats’ compact bodies and thick, cream-coloured coats allow them to be indifferent to wind, snow and extreme temperatures. They are built for climbing, with strong forelegs adapted to hauling them up almost-impossible slopes. Their hooves are shaped like suction cups, with a strong ridge around a relatively soft central pad, providing secure footing on a variety of irregular surfaces.
Both males and females have slender, pointed horns that extend up and away from the long, narrow face. Males (billies) and females (nannies) can be hard to tell apart. The shape of the animal’s horns is one clue: females have a noticeable curve at the tip of their horns while males have a gradual curve along the entire length. Billies are substantially larger than nannies, but since male goats are solitary except during mating season (November to December), size comparisons are difficult to make.
Mountain goats usually give birth in May and June. The newborns arrive with a white woolly coat to protect them against the cold of a mountain spring, and develop very rapidly.