On my second trip up the Mount Evans Highway, I came across a wonderful sight … a group of a couple of dozen of Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus), and within that large group, there were at least 7 month-old “kids”. And mountain goat kids are just like human kids; they are often busy playing!
At one time, I counted 7 babies on one large boulder. Their play included “king of the hill”, as they wantonly charged each other, butting with their heads, or even jumping on/over each other! Here are a few images I captured of this hilarious sight (and later, I have included some links to some short videos I made):
Quite comical! And at about a month old, they’ve got a lot of balance and agility for such play on the rocks. And I’ve got a suspicion that some of these guys may re-appear … in my “Fun Friday” posts! :o)
Although they are having fun and appear to be rough-housing with each other as a way to amuse themselves, they are actually preparing themselves for “living on the edge”. A mountain goat lives his entire life among the boulders and cliffs of the steep mountainsides. This “play” that they can often be seen participating in, is how they learn to maintain their balance and maneuver among the rocks and boulders, thus preparing them for their future.
And here are a few VIDEOS I captured with my Canon 7D camera. These 3 clips are short, but show the playful personalities of the young goats as they quickly and sure-footedly play among the boulders! And in the last video, one of the yearling goats from the group decided he wanted in on the fun, too! These are not professional videos, and there has been no editing (and I don’t see having the time anytime soon, to be able to learn editing of videos) and it was quite windy the day I taped this action, causing a lot of noise in the microphone. But they are still fun to watch … so, enjoy!
Video #1 http://youtu.be/kIhG6q6aDt8
Video #2 http://youtu.be/txex3izwaUU
Video #3 http://youtu.be/1iNEreiSeU8