ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT
(Haplocerus montanus[16])
This is one of the very few mammals that are permanently white or whitish at all seasons, and although commonly termed a goat, it really belongs to the same group as the serows, which it closely resembles in the form and color of the horns. In winter the hair is very long, and pure white in color; along the back it is erect, and much elongated on the withers and haunches, so as to give to the animal the appearance of possessing a pair of humps. The summer coat is comparatively short, and has a yellowish tinge. Height at shoulder just short of 3 feet; weight from 180 to 300 pounds.
Distribution.—North America, throughout the Rocky Mountains, from about latitude 36° in California at least as far north as latitude 60°. By American naturalists the proper generic name of the animal is considered to be Oreamnus instead of Haplocerus.
Measurements of Horns
| Length on Front Curve | Circumference | Tip to Tip | Locality | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| —11½ | .. | .. | British Columbia | Clive Phillipps-Wolley |
| —11 | .. | .. | Kutenay, British Columbia | John T. Fannin (measured by) |
| —10½ | 5¾ | .. | Montana | Walter James |
| 10¼ | 5¼ | 5½ | British Columbia | R. Rankin |
| —10⅛ | 6½ | .. | Similkameen River, British Columbia | Arthur Pearse |
| 10⅛ | 5 | 6⅛ | ? | E. N. Buxton |
| —♀10⅛ | 4¾ | .. | British Columbia | Capt. A. Egerton |
| 10 | 5⅜ | 6⅜ | British Columbia J. V. Colby | |
| —9¾ | 5 | .. | Montana | Theodore Roosevelt |
| 9¾ | 5½ | 6¼ | N.W. Territories | S. Ratcliff |
| 9¾ | 5¼ | 6 | N.W. Territories | H.R.H. le Duc d’Orléans |
| 9⅝ | 5¼ | 6⅛ | N.W. Territories | Sir Edmund G. Loder, Bart. |
| 9½ | 5½ | 6¼ | Alaska | Sir George Littledale |
| 9½ | 4½ | .. | North America | J. D. Cobbold |
| ♀9½ | 4¼ | 5½ | British Columbia | P. B. Vander-Byl |
| 9½ | 5¼ | 6⅜ | East Kutenay, British Columbia | A. E. Butter |
| —9½ | 5¼ | 6½ | Bitter Root Mts., U.S.A. | James J. Harrison |
| —♀9⅜ | 4½ | 5⅝ | British Columbia | A. E. Leatham |
| —9⅜ | 5⅜ | 6¾ | British Columbia | T. W. H. Clarke |
| 9¼ | 5½ | 5¼ | British Columbia | J. Turner-Turner |
| 9¼ | 5½ | .. | North America | Earl of Lonsdale |
| 9¼ | 5½ | 5¾ | British Columbia | G. Lloyd Graeme |
| 9⅛ | .. | 6 | Montana | Thomas Bate, British Museum |
| 9⅛ | 5¼ | 5 | British Columbia | Sir Peter Walker, Bart. |
| 9 | 4¾ | 6 | British Columbia | T. P. Kempson |
| —8⅞ | 5½ | 4⅛ | British Columbia | Count E. Hoyos |
| 8¼ | 4⅔ | 5¼ | British Columbia | Count Schiebler |