Mountain Goat

The Mountain Goat is a large mammal covered with long creamy white hair to keep the goat warm in the winter months 
Their white coat matches the snow and keeps it hidden from predators. They shed their thick fur in the warmer months by rubbing up against trees. They have black lips, nostrils, hooves, and horns.
Adults have long hair under their throat forming a "beard". Both sexes have sharp pointed horns that curve slightly backward. In females, the horns reach 9 inches (230 mm) in males about 12 inches (300 mm). Their hooves are well adapted to their living on cliffs and ledges, they have a hard, straight outer margin, with soft and flexible inner pads that provide excellent traction on rocky cliffs.
They stand about 3 to 3 ½ feet (90 to 100 cm) at the shoulder and weigh between 100 and 300 pounds (455-135 kg). Females are smaller than males. In Washington, Mountain Goats are found naturally in the Cascades and Selkirk. They are also found living in the Olympics where they were introduced in the 1920s.
Their main habitat requirement is rugged terrain such as steep, rocky cliffs, ledges, and talus slides. Mountain goats graze on grasses and forbs in summer. They also browse on shrubs and conifers. Their diet is variable in the winter when they feed on mosses, lichens, grasses, shrubs, and conifers.  Mountain Goats are the very agile mountain mammals and they move easily on rocky ledges where they are safe from predators.
Category:Mammals
Category:Bovines
Category:Herbivores
Category:Wildlife
Category:American Wildlife
Category:American Animals
Category:Ungulates