A mother Mountain Goat licking her calf....Embarrassing???

A mother Mountain Goat licking her calf....Embarrassing???

A mother Billy Goat licking her calf on Mount Timpanogos. Cute to us but it was likely an embarrassing moment for the growing calf. September 2010
TyeDyeTwins
on Oct 2, 2010 6:24 am
Image Type(s): Wildlife,  Scenery
Image ID: 666919

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Marcsoltan

Marcsoltan - Oct 3, 2010 1:05 am - Voted 10/10

Not embarrassing at all,

At least she's not licking the calf's butt. I've seen that too.

TyeDyeTwins

TyeDyeTwins - Oct 4, 2010 12:51 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Not embarrassing at all,

That would likely be more embarrassing for sure. The calf pictured made a call to its mom at the time like, "mom what the hell, quit embarrassing me in front of all the climbers." Happy Trails Marc and many thanks for the comments.

aldocious

aldocious - Oct 3, 2010 9:06 pm - Hasn't voted

Very cool!

I've only been on a summit twice and they've both been on Timpanogos! One of the things that keep drawing me back is the amazing docile wildlife. I love these mountain goats and how friendly they are!

TyeDyeTwins

TyeDyeTwins - Oct 4, 2010 1:01 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Very cool!

Anytime your climbing Timp and you see a goat I call it the "Billy Goat Bonus". I ski there a lot in the summer and almost always see them climbing around.

Be careful, not all of the Billy Goats up there are docile. I have been approaching goats for years without incident until just a few weeks ago.
While hiking back down off the summit of Timpanogos we passed over 35 goats. After a mile of no wildlife we saw a goat and a baby standing on the trail. As we got closer the parent goat turned at us and shook his head side to side. We stopped moving and still not happy with us he bluffed charged, then stomped the ground with his hoofs over and over.

Some factors that influenced the agressive behavior....
1. We were approaching them
2. It was near dark
3. There was a baby goat present
4. One of the other babies in the family was lost (we found him solo on a cliff a mile away)
5. September is the start of the fall mating season.

There was also a recent trip report about a SP member almost having to use the bear spray on a Billy Goat. Happy Trails out there

aldocious

aldocious - Oct 12, 2010 2:50 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Very cool!

Thanks for sharing. It's hard to not treat the wild as a "petting zoo", however I always keep in the back of my head the image of my face on the news and the headline "idiot hiker tries to pet wildlife". That's enough of a deterant to keep my distance and respect THEIR turf.

Sarah Simon

Sarah Simon - Oct 3, 2010 11:04 pm - Voted 10/10

Pst!

Methinks it's Billy, Nanny & Kid (the goat family, that is). Cheers! -Sarah

TyeDyeTwins

TyeDyeTwins - Oct 4, 2010 1:03 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Pst!

Many thanks Sarah, happy trails out there.

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