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| Oreamnos americanus |
Description - The Mountain Goat, a blunt, square-looking animal has a narrow head with slender, black, shiny horns rising in a backward curve to a length of 10-12 inches. The coat is white and on the chin is a double beard of long hair. Weighing an average of 150-300 pounds and reaching heights of 35-45 inches, the mountain goat is sure-footed and agile due to its hooves with cushioned skid-proof pads for grip.
Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15-28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected from the elements by their woolly white double coats. The fine, dense wool of their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. In warmer seasons, mountain goats moult by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult Billies (males) shedding their extra wool first and the pregnant nannies (females) shed last. In the winter, their coats help them to withstand temperatures as low as -50 Fahrenheit (-46 Celsius) and winds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h). In the wild, mountain goats usually live twelve to fifteen years, with their lifespan limited by the wearing down of their teeth.
A Billy stands about one meter (3'3") at the shoulder to the waist. Male goats also have longer horns and a longer beard than nannies. Mountain goats typically weigh between 45 and 136 kg (100 - 300 lb.); females are usually 10-30% lighter than males. The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes, sometimes with pitches of 60 degrees or more, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart as needed. Dewclaws on the back of their feet also help to keep them from slipping.
Biology - This mountain goat feeds on alpine grasses and flowers to almost any tree and shrub. The rutting season occurs between November and early January and the young (often twins) is born in May or June. The greatest cause of death for these mountain dwellers is accidents and in the winter when the availability of food is decreased, they are more susceptible to disease, parasites, predators and accidents.
SOME KEY FACTS:
- No large mammal on earth lives at higher elevations
- The Rocky Mountain goat is the least studied large mammal in North America
- The closest living relative is the European chamois
- The Rocky Mountain goat can stand on a ledge the size of a paperback book and can even turn around on it!
- Adults have long hair under their throat forming a characteristic "beard"
- Despite its name, it is not a true goat, as it belongs to a different genus
- The mountain goat is the only species in the genus Oreamnos
- The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros (stem ore-) 'mountain' (or, alternatively, oreas 'mountain nymph') and the word amnos 'lamb'.
It began as American slang, apparently early in the 20th century. H. L. Mencken writes in American Language (1945) of being told that the saying originated with the practice of horse racers often placing a goat in the stall with a nervous horse. The horse soon becomes accustomed to having the goat there and finds it comforting. The horse becomes less nervous and is not so easily upset. If a rival owner can steal or "get" this goat, then the horse gets nervous and upset and is likely to loose the race. In any event, the first recorded appearance of the expression in print is in Christy Mathewson's Pitching in a Pinch (1912): "Then Lobert stopped at third with a mocking smile which would have gotten the late Job's goat."
The Urban Dictionary Definition
- Basic Definition: To annoy you to the point of getting pissed.
- Sub Definition: The goat is a metaphor for your state of peacefulness. When your goat is with you, you are calm and collected. When your goat is stolen, you become angry and upset.
