![]() Kid and yearling survival may be less than 50 percent depending upon the severity of the winter. Yearlings drop to the bottom of the social order and are forced to forage last in areas pawed out by other goats. By association, kids also assume the superior status of their mothers who vigorously defend them until they are yearlings. Adult females rank highest in the social order. After a gestation period of six months, kids are born in late May or early June and closely follow their mothers for the first year. Females (or nannies) do not breed until at least 2 1/2 years of age. The mountain goat breeding season occurs from mid-November through early December. Progress reports for Olympic National Park mountain goat removal and translocation to the North Cascades: From these staging areas, mountain goats would then be transported to pre-selected staging areas in the North Cascades, and then brought to release locations where they would be returned to the wild. For the first few years of this work, the approved plan called for most mountain goats to be captured live and transported to staging areas on the Olympic Peninsula where they would formally become the responsibility of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). National Park Service (NPS) signed a Record of Decision, authorizing the beginning of a plan to remove mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus) from Olympic National Park (as well as adjacent portions of the Olympic National Forest). On June 18, 2018, after years of planning and extensive public review, the regional director of the U.S. Baker, along the lower Cascade crest, and along the north shore of Lake Chelan. Current permit levels are conservative and represent no more than four percent of mountain goat populations that are surveyed regularly and are stable or increasing. Hunting opportunity has decreased accordingly. Of these, about 450 live primarily within national parks. As of 2008, our best estimate of the mountain goat population is the 2,400 to 3,200 range. Goat populations within the state were considered to have exceeded 10,000 animals (including those within federally-managed areas) as recently as 1961. Mountain goat populations have declined overall in Washington relative to estimated historical levels. Mountain goats are not native to the Olympic Peninsula these goats descended from introductions in the 1920s. A few mountain goats inhabit the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington where they have probably colonized from reintroductions in Oregon. Mountain goats are native to the Cascade Range, and can be found from the Canadian border on the north to the Oregon border on the south. Geographic rangeīetween 2,400 and 3,200 mountain goats are estimated to live in Washington. Mountain goats continue to grow through their fourth year achieving average weights of 125 to 155 pounds for females and 135 to 180 pounds for males. Yearlings may average about 45 pounds and 2-year-olds about 55 pounds. The female stands in place and squats on her hind legs.Īt birth, young goats or kids stand about 13 inches at the shoulder and weigh 5 to 7 pounds. The male stretches forward with the front legs while keeping the hind legs stationary. Probably the best way to distinguish male and female mountain goats is their urination posture. Muscular development of the males' shoulders and depth of the chest are greater than that of females. ![]() The female's horns tend to curve more toward the tip. The male's horns have a wider base and curve back in a greater, more uniform arc. Their horns grow from a bony core and are not shed like antlers on other ungulates. The age of a goat may be determined by counting the annual growth rings which are formed each winter except the first year. With their all white coats and shiny black horns sported by both sexes, mountain goats can be relatively easy to spot.
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