The animals focus their activity at wet seeps
on the lick where more minerals are carried in
solution. Mountain goats are crepuscular in
nature, and daily use of the lick tends to occur
most frequently during twilight spans of dawn
and dusk. A goat typically licks for a total of 24
hours, in 4-6 hour durations, on its first
seasonal visit to the site. After the first day,
more time is spent in feeding and bedding.
Because individual goats compete for the best
licking area, aggressive interactions are
common on the lick. Watch for threatening
horn swipes and rushes. The social ranking
of goats serves to reduce direct conflict which,
due to the sharpness of their horns, could
result in serious injuries. At the lick, adult
males (billies) and females (nannies) with
kids share a position of near equal
dominance, followed by barren nannies,
subadults, and yearlings. On the range,
however, adult billies often appear to be
subordinate to nannies with kids.
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Earth Science Teacher at Helena High School |