D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S P R I N G 2 0 1 8
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action. e low-stretch, on the other
hand, serves to increase a billy's
chances of being allowed within the
personal space of one of the most
aggressive of ungulate females dur-
ing the breeding season.
A goat performs a predictable
routine whenever it lies down. It
sniffs the ground while circling a
bit, like the family dog; scrapes the
ground, favoring the uphill hoof
on tilted spots, thus helping level
the bed or remove stones, sniffs
again; kneels,
sometimes
checking the scent again, then lies
down all the way. e rest depends
on how much the goat feels in need
of a dustbath. It may go at it so
hard, alternately scratching with
its rear feet and horns and sending
up plumes of powdered soil, that it
scoops out a wide, dusty pit in the
slope. And it keeps dustbathing off
and on in bed; even more on hot,
buggy days.
I was lying on my back in a
meadow one afternoon when I was
awakened for a sound that turned
out to be Gore (a very large billy)
snipping grass a foot away from me.
I lay still and looked at him and our
eyes met. en he stepped right over
me and continued grazing, pausing
once to look back at me. His tail
was tucked down the entire time,
betraying not a milligram of fear.
What was it about this huge billy?
He, and he alone, trotted back and
forth across the pass keeping an eye
on the whereabouts of all the other
goats. He also kept track of the hikers.
en I recognized that he was
acting rather like a billy does,
during the rut. e first threat
Anything beyond occasional light shting preure
The quintessential
pose of a mountain
goat hunched on a crag
illustrates very well
how disproportionately
massive its forequarters
are in relation to its
compact rear end. It is
an unparalleled puller.
RICK
SHEREMETA
JEREMIE
HOLLMAN
Goat on the Highline Trail,
passes photographer
www.distinctlymontana.com/goat182
DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL
When hiking in Glacier
National Park look up at the
rocky terrain; a mountain goat
might be looking down at you.
Mountain Goats grazing in
field of asters at Logan Pass
in Glacier National Park
