The Rocky Mountain Goat

by Madison Grant

KILLED IN SPILLAMACHENE VALLEY, SOUTH OF GOLDEN, BRITISH COLUMBIA, NOVEMBER, 1903

Total length with tail, following convolutions of body, 73 inches; tail, 7 inches; hind foot, 12 inches; height at shoulders, 41 inches; measurements taken after mounting. On exhibition in the American Museum of Natural History.

The skulls of animals killed in the Schesley Mountains by Andrew J. Stone in 1903, were found to be in all respects identical with those killed by the writer and Mr. Charles Arthur Moore, Jr., in the main Rockies, near the Columbia River the following year. Animals from these districts were characterized by great bulk and by a long and relatively narrow skull. This was the third type described and it received from Dr. Allen the name of O. m. columbianus. This subspecies probably extends from the American border up through the Canadian Rockies, to the northern limits of goat in that region, which is west of the Mackenzie River at about north latitude 63° 30´. The goat in the northern Rockies, may possibly be found to be specifically distinct from the goat on the coast of southern Alaska.

SIDE VIEW OF SPECIMEN SHOWN ON OPPOSITE PAGE.

In the midst of the distributional area of this large subspecies and in the vicinity of the Big Bend of the Columbia River, a very small goat is found. This animal, upon further investigation, may prove interesting. At present, however, all the Canadian goats must be provisionally assigned to O. m. columbianus.

A curious break in the range of this subspecies is found just north of the Liard River, where, according to no less an authority than Andrew J. Stone, no goat are found for a distance of over a hundred miles. Probably the local topography, of which we have no knowledge, will explain the absence of goat from this territory. No goat have yet been found north of the Yukon River.

O. m. columbianus abounds along the coast ranges of British Columbia, and extends into Alaska, probably merging in the neighborhood of the Copper River into O. kennedyi, the western-most member of the genus. The extreme western record for goat is the Matanuska River, not far from the head of Cook Inlet. Horns from this locality, however, do not show the characteristics of Kennedy's goat. No goat are reported in the vicinity of Mt. McKinley, but they are found along the Copper River for a considerable distance inland, and there is some evidence of their occurrence on the north side of Mt. St. Elias. It may be well to remark here that while O. kennedyi is a valid species, founded on abundant material, no living specimens have been seen by a white man so far as is known, nor have we any information concerning the limits of its distribution. O. m. columbianus is by far the largest and handsomest member of the genus, unless O. kennedyi proves on further investigation, to excel in these respects. It is, therefore, surprising that the great differences in size and other characteristics, which distinguish this type from the goat in the United States have not been previously recognized.

The animals south of the Canadian border and still in the main range of the Rockies, upon comparison with the preceding types, were found to be much smaller, in fact the smallest of all the subspecies and were characterized by shorter but still relatively narrow skulls. The specimens of this type under consideration having been killed in the Bitter Root Mountains, the subspecific name of O. m. missoulæ was given them by Dr. Allen. This is the fourth and last type to be described, although these animals from the Bitter Root Mountains were the first goat known to transcontinental explorers. This is the goat usually hunted by American sportsmen and its range probably extends from the southeastern limits of the genus in Montana and Idaho to the Canadian border, where like O. montanus it passes imperceptibly into O. m. columbianus. The extreme southerly limit of the goat in the Rockies is the Sawtooth Mountains and the Salmon River in Idaho. It does not reach the Tetons, in Wyoming, nor does it occur in the Yellowstone Park. The question of its absence in these localities will be discussed later in this paper.