Mountain Goats

The mountain goat is a strange animal, and Lewis and Clark may have missed seeing one.  Mountain goats live on high rocky crags in the Rocky Mountains.

Males stand three to four feet at the shoulder and are larger than the females.  The animals have short, powerful legs and are sure-footed on the rocks.  

Females dominate the males, and can even chase away large males.  They have slightly longer horns than the males, and use them to defend their territory.

The male is a "billy," the female is  a "nanny," and babies are "kids."  They  eat grass, lichens, leaves, and twigs.

The mountain goat is not closely related to true goats and sheep.  It is closer to the antelopes, and is sometimes called a "goat antelope."

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Katherine A. Young and Virgil M. Young
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