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Hunting Mountain Goat Page
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 Photo by: D. Robert Franz |
Mountain Goat
Oreamnos americanus
Habitat: The best habitat appears to be a mixture of talus rock faces, alpine meadows, ridge tops, and subalpine ecotones (Saunders 1955).
Diet: Summer forage consists of grasses and grass-like plants (50 to 95 percent of the diet) and forbs (4 to 14 percent of the diet) (Hibbs 1967, B. Johnson et al. 1978, Saunders 1955). Winter diets are also predominately grass and grass-like plants (88 to 90 percent), and browse (10 to 12 percent).
Description: The mountain goat has a sturdy build with a slight shoulder hump. The pelage is white to yellowish white with long guard hairs, woolly underfur, and a prominent mane, beard, and chaps. The black horns, hooves, and nose pad contrast sharply with the white pelage. The horns, present on both sexes, are of modest length (190-300 mm), relatively thin, conical, and unbranched. Well-developed horn (postcornual) glands are present at the base of the horns. The legs are short and the hooves have a pliable, elastic, slightly convex pad that extends beyond the rim of the outer hoof wall. This pad allows for excellent traction on steep, rocky cliff faces. Measurements are: total length 950-1,700 mm; length of tail 80-200 mm; length of hindfoot 300-370 mm; weight 40-140 kg.
Range in Colorado: Mountain goats now exist in portions of the San Juan Mountains, Gore Range, Collegiate Range (J. Bailey and Johnson 1977). and on Mount Evans.
Status: CDOW Big Game, CDOW WRIS Species
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