MAMMALS: HOOFED MAMMALS

Mountain Goat, Oreamnos americanus

Family Bovidae (Sheep, Goats, and Bison)

Size: ~ 3' tall at shoulder (males larger than females)

Range: Colorado's northern Rocky Mountains

Habitat: Cliffs at high altitudes, near or above timberline

Found only in North America, the mountain goat, also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a stocky, sure-footed member of the bovid family, and the largest mammal likely to be seen in the alpine zone. It is all white or cream-colored, with dense, wooly fur and a shaggy beard below the throat. The hooves and thin, backward-curving horns are black. Horns are present in both males and females. The shoulder is humped, and the tail is short and stubby. Able to withstand extreme cold, mountain goats are seen singly or in small groups foraging on impossibly steep, rocky slopes for lichens, grasses, herbs, ferns, and tree branches.