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Mountain Goat
scientific name
Oreamnos americanus
size/weight/height
Mountain
goats weigh from 100 to 300 pounds, with the males typically 25 percent
larger than the females. They measure 4 to 5 feet across,
and have tails 4 to 8 inches long.
adaptations/coloration
Mountain
goat fur is white helping the animals blend in with their
snowy environment. They have thick wooly undercoats and beards.
Both males and females have horns. Their hooves have a hard, sharp
rim enclosing a soft inner
pad, well suited for climbing on rocks. Mountain goats are not true
goats, and are actually more
closely related to antelopes
behavior
Mountain
goats may form large groups in the winter in protected areas; in
the summer, they
disperse into small bands and congregate at salt licks. They may cover
100 meters daily while
grazing and browsing, able to climb and jump easily in rugged terrain,
but in the autumn,
they move down-slope. They may excavate shallow depressions for bedding.
These animals
sometimes fight over food, but they don’t butt heads.
reproduction/life
span
Mountain
goats mate from November to early January. They have a gestation
period of 147 to
178 days and give birth in late May and early June. Usually, one baby
mountain goat (called a
kid) is born, but twins are not uncommon. The young are able to follow
their mother in a week,
and they mature at 30 months. Males live an average of 14 years and
females live an average of 18.
diet
Mountain goats are herbivores, eating wild grass, herbs, lichen,
moss and woody plants. In the zoo, they eat alfalfa, grass, hay,
pelleted feed and cuttings of browse plants provided by gardening
staff.
habitat/range
Mountain goats live on steep slopes and cliffs in alpine and sub
alpine areas. They live in mountainous regions from southeast
Alaska to the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories.
other
Mountain
goats have been introduced to Colorado, central Montana,
the Black Hills of South Dakota, Hells Canyon National Scenic Area
in Oregon, Olympic National Park in Washington, Kodiak, Baranof
and the Chicago Islands of Alaska..
oregon zoo exhibit
Cascade Crest
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