A sure-footed, white-coated climber of the high mountains of western North America, often seen on near-vertical cliffs. Despite its name it is not a true goat: its closest relatives are goat-antelopes such as the chamois. It stays high up, where few predators can follow.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
Hunted, with food listed among its uses to people.
At a glance
Found inNorth America
HabitatMountains
ColoursWhite
SizeMedium
Length120–179 cm, plus a 10–20 cm tail
HeightAbout 1 m at the shoulder (males)
Legs4
Covered inWool
Lives inherds
Lives for12–15 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Mountains of western North America, from Idaho and Montana through British Columbia and Alberta to southern Yukon and southeastern Alaska.
- What it eats
- Grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, mosses, lichens, and twigs and leaves of shrubs and conifers.
Did you know
Its split hooves spread apart and have grippy inner pads, letting it climb slopes steeper than 60°.
British Columbia holds half of the world’s mountain goats.
Kids weigh just over 3 kg at birth and try to run and climb within hours.
Often confused with
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