How Do Mountain Goats Get Their Incredible Cliff-Climbing Skills

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markbyzewski/Flickr

Mountain goats are amazing. They can climb super high on really steep cliffs like it's nothing.

They hang out on mountaintops for most of the year, shedding their shaggy winter coat when they lower their elevation for the spring and summer.

How do mountain goats climb so well? What are their secrets?

Here are some facts about the nimble-footed mammal.

Mountain goats are only found in North America, concentrated around the Rocky Mountains. There are about 100,000 of them today.

Ninjatacoshell/Wikimedia Commons

Source: Defenders of Wildlife

But they're not actually goats. They're part of the antelope family.

yellowstonenps/Flickr

They use the precipitous heights of their mountain homes for protection from predators.

markbyzewski/Flickr

Their biggest predators are bears, wolves, cougars, and golden eagles, which can snatch up kids. Humans are a problem, too, since hunting is legal in many states they call home.

Brian A. Ridder/Wikimedia Commons

Sources: Switch Zoo, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Males are called billies and females are called nannies.

davidwilson1949/Flickr

Kids can start climbing with their parents when they're just days old.

matyra/Flickr

Source: Defenders of Wildlife

Mountain goats typically live at elevations above 10,000 feet. They migrate to lower elevations during the spring and summer, but return to their mountaintops to survive the long winter.

Darklich14/Wikimedia Commons

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

Mountain goats can pull themselves up inclines with just one hoof.

rayandbee/Flickr

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

They can scale slopes at angles above 60 degrees.

jerrykeenan/Flickr

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

Look at it go!

Mountain goats owe their climbing abilities to their crazy feet. They're hard and bony on the outside, and soft on the inside.

goldberg/Flickr

They can wiggle their front toes together and apart so they can grip surfaces better. And the convex shape of their hooves act like slip-proof soles.

markbyzewski/Flickr

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

Mountain goats can also jump up to 12 feet.

markbyzewski/Flickr

Source: National Geographic

You can count the number of rings on their horns to tell how old they are, just like a tree.

gailfisher/Flickr

Source: Defenders of Wildlife

They graze on grasses and other plants for food.

A goat's-eye view from a GoPro.

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

Goats love savory snacks, like this one that's licking the guardrail at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park because sweaty human hands left salt on it.

Avenue/Wikimedia Commons

In the wild, mountain goats can live up to 15 years. Long live the crazy, cool mountain goat!

mikelehen/Flickr

Source: Woodland Park Zoo

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