Another from Montana

Yes a "Mountain Goat" from Montana - Lois forwarded another photo from their trip today. There is a story here -' while they were driving up the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" this young creature meandered across in front of them to some high ground with the appropriate backdrop and stood patiently for some photo shots' - true! I have seen a few of these mountain goats before in the Canadian Rockies, but from a great distance, can't say any have actually stood on a scenic rise for me to click a photo or 10 - good one Lois! I decided to find out a bit more about this breed - as goats are my very favourite animal, and after farming them for some 15 years, they still really interest and amaze me. This particular goat is a large hoofed mammal, found only in North America (Rocky Mountains and Cascade Range regions), it resides at high elevations and is a sure-footed climber, resting on rocky cliffs so that predators cannot reach, it is often referred to as the Rocky Mountain Goat. Now what amazed me is that it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats; it belongs to the family of Bovidae which includes antelopes, gazelles and cattle!!! However it is in the subfamily of Caprinae (goat-antelopes) with 32 other species including true goats, sheep, the chamois, and the musk ox. These mountain goats are the largest mammals found in their high-altitude habitats which reach elevations of 13,000 feet or more. This critter is maybe of little interest to most, but to me the goat is a pretty smart and intelligent creature!