Mountain GoatIdentification

IntroductionTest your skills at telling male (billy) and female (nanny) mountain goats apart by taking the online Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Mountain Goat Gender Identification Training by logging into your WILD account under the “Mandatory Species Identification Training” section. This training will help you avoid the accidental harvest of a female. Harvesting females can greatly reduce the overall mountain goat population, which can negatively affect hunters by causing future hunting restrictions. A little time spent practicing mountain goat sex identification can go a long way toward ensuring hunting opportunities in future years.

If you are drawn for a mountain goat special hunting permit, you are required to take the online mountain goat gender identification training before you obtain a license and tag.

When mountain goat hunting... getting close and being patient are key!

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Males Females

Consider all of these criteria as a checklist when identifying a goat. Go through each of them to see which ones apply to the animal you are observing. Often this will enable you to differentiate the sex of the animal reliably. Note: These characteristics are representative of adult male and female goats.

Mountain Goat Characteristics

Characteristics

Body Size and Shape

Horns

• Stocky body• Roman bulge to nose• Pronounced shoulder hump• Pronounced pantaloons

• Thicker throughout length• Uniform, gradual curvature• Larger bases• Bases closer together• Enlarged glands behind bases• Base of horn is wider than the eye

• Smaller body

• Thin• Sharp curve near the tip• Small bases• Wide distance between bases• Base of horn is narrower than the eye

Group Size and Composition

• Often solitary or groups of 2-3 •Typically (but not always) Kids and large groups

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Harvest of Males Pays OffFor most people, determining the sex of mountain goats in the field is a difficult task. Although it is legal for hunters to harvest a goat of either sex, the harvest of females is discouraged. WDFW urges hunters to target adult males for the following reasons:• Females are late to breed having their first kid between four and six years old. Young mountain goats experience high mortality.• Females may not reproduce every year.• If you kill a female, you also take away offspring she would have produced to replace the animals that die from hunting and all other causes.• Loss of too many females may cause the mountain goat population to decline to a level that allows very little or no hunting opportunity.

Males Females Characteristics

Sexual Organs and Urination

• Sometimes organs are visible• Stands stretching to urinate

• Squats, rump near ground to urinate

If hunters take the time to select males instead of females, more goats will be available for future harvest. In fact, by the end of a seven-year period a small group of goats could double in size if females are not killed and the winter weather is moderate. The chart on page 4, illustrates the benefits of harvesting males and passing up females.

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first, you reduce the chance of taking a female by mistake and second, you greatly increase your chances of a clean kill because you have reduced the range. Impatient hunters that take long shots have a higher risk of wounding loss, carcass and horn damage from falls, and self-injury from trying to recover a kill from steep terrain.

Horn Thickness • Males have thicker horns with less space between the horns at the base. • Female horns are thinner

Horn Curvature • Male horns curve gradually. • Female horns make a more abrupt curve about 2/3 of the way to the tips.

Width of Horn Base • Males have horn bases which are greater than the width of his eye. • Females have horn bases equal to or less than her eye width.

How to Judge Sex and Age by Horn Appearance and SizeMost seasoned mountain goat hunters agree that the most effective way to identify a billy is by stalking close enough to see the size and shape of the horns. By getting close enough to use horn characteristics to identify a goat's sex you accomplish two things;

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Horn LengthHorn lengths are approximately the same in male and female goats of the same age so other more reliable horn characteristics should be used to distinguish the two sexes.Generally, an adult goat's ear is about six inches long. • Kids have only short buttons up to one-inch-long during their first fall. • Most yearling goats have horns about six inches long, which at a casual glance look much like adult horns. By the time a goat reaches the yearling age class, it has attained over half its expected horn length. • Goat's two years old and older will have horn lengths longer than their total ear length.

• An ear length and one half should equal a 9-10" horn length. In the Boone and Crocket Club record book the top ten record males all had horns longer than 10 inches; in Washington, slightly over 9” is typically as long as billy horns get.

BroomingBrooming (wearing down of the tip of the horn) will affect the total length of a goat horn. Many males that are four years old or older show evidence of brooming (or the wearing down of the tip of the horn).

Using Body Size to Judge Sex and AgeOn careful observation, adult males can be recognized from a distance because they are larger and stocker than females. But don't depend on size alone, because an adult female could be the largest goat in a group of nannies, kids and sub adults. Look for other clues in addition to size and shape.

Adult maleAdult males average about 150 lbs., but may exceptionally large billies weigh up to300 lbs.

2-year-old maleAdult females and 2-year-old males may be about the same size

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YearlingYearlings weigh about 60–70 lbs. and stand about 27'' at the shoulder.

KidKids are easily recognized by their small size, weighing only about 35 lbs. and standing 20'' at the front shoulder.

It is difficult to identify the sex of the goats in the bottom left photo compared to the right. The distance and backdrop pose challenges in identifying the sexes. Using a good spotting scope and taking the time to observe more closely would increase positive identification. These two photos are the same animals, but in different configurations.

Behavioral Characteristics Provide More Clues to a Goat's SexGoats are frequently seen in groups of varying sizes. Groups larger than three or four animals are usually made up of kids, adult females, and immature goats of both sexes. The likelihood of adult males being with these groups increases in November as breeding season approaches.During most of the year adult males are more frequently found as solitary animals or in small isolated groups. If you see a lone animal bedded on the edge of a 2,000-foot cliff, chances are good it's a mature male (but it could still be a nanny, so be careful). If adult males are found with larger groups of goats, look for them on the edge of the group. After a few minutes of careful observation, it usually becomes apparent which goats are females and which are males.

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Mountain goats usually have only one kid, but twins sometimes occur. If you see a female with three or more kids, you can bet that the rest of the group is on the other side of the ridge. Biologists suspect that orphan kids have a significantly reduced chance of survival during their first winter. Mountain goats generally have lower productivity than other game animals because of high mortality of kids and yearling animals. Maintaining a high number of mature females is desirable for good management of goats.

Urination PostureTaking the time needed to observe urination posture in mountain goats is the single best way to identify the animal’s gender. As a hunter with a coveted permit to hunt a mountain goat in Washington, you’ve already learned about patience. Spend a bit more time studying the animal you are considering harvesting; eventually it will urinate, and this will provide you with the gold standard in gender identification.

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MalesMales stretch their hind legs backward, slightly flexing and barely splaying their legs to the side.

Males may have a yellow stained patch of hair on their hindquarters. The patch becomes more evident around the end of September and, in some cases, may be

Females• Females squat to urinate, partially raising their tails.• Females usually do not have stains on their hindquarters but urination patches may be seen.

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1. Are you in good enough physical shape to conduct a goat hunt?Fatigue and desperation can cause you to make a bad choice or impair your abilityto make good decisions. Also, you might hurt yourself or worse!

2. Are you looking at a collared goat?WDFW asks you to avoid harvesting collared goats so they can continue tocontribute to our understanding of this population

3. Can you get a clean shot?4. Can you safely retrieve the animal? (Consider where it is likely to end up after

being killed).5. Did you take a long enough look?6. Have you seen the horns from numerous angles?7. Have you used optics?8. Is the shot within your personal effective distance?9. Have you taken extra time to be sure?10. Based on all the information provided, are you confident that you’re selecting

a male?

Once a male is identified, most seasoned goat hunters will wait until the goat is away from any dangerous terrain in which the animal might hang up or fall after the shot. Goats are creatures of habit and if a hunter is patient enough to observe a goat's feeding habits they will find out that goats generally come off of the cliffs to feed early in the morning and late in the afternoon. By not rushing your shot, you increase your chances of taking a large male, which sometimes have a reputation of appearing when you least expect them.

Before you take the shot consider...

Take the Training

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