A nice look at mountain goats from a full adult nanny to her kid of the year.

After a long hike up the mountain, the kid was pretty tuckered out and laid down to take a break. While it rested, mom stayed nearby of course, keeping close watch. The third goat appears to be a juvenile, perhaps a couple of years old. It may have been the mom’s offspring from a previous year as it did seem to want to stock close to her.

In the wild, mountain goats live from 10 to 15 years. The kids will only weigh 6 or 7 pounds when born but a full-grown male can push 300 pounds. Adult females come in lighter and usually short of 200 pounds.

How about this little cutie? It makes for a fine capture for Mountain Goat Monday. 😉 

I returned to Mount Evans yesterday, an excursion that seems to have become my standard Independence Day spot in recent years. On my previous visit, I had only seen adults and yearlings, no kids.

This time, after a longer wait than usual, the littles ones did finally appear, in fact, eight of them. They weren’t particularly rambunctious or playful, instead just hanging out quietly and grazing with the adults.

That is okay though as they are just so stinking cute I just can’t get enough of them! This one was sticking close to mama but paused briefly to give me a cute pose.

After a one-year hiatus with Mount Evans closed due to COVID, I finally was able to return to the top of this infamous 14,000+ foot Colorado peak.

Action was slow, initially, with only four adult mountain goats around and they were not keen on doing anything great. Finally, a small group of five adults and two kids ascended to a spot lower on the mountain where I was hanging out.

I spent more than an hour photographing them, getting some cool shots. They did find my truck quite fascinating – and tasty. Mountain goats often lick vehicles for the salt and minerals on them and my truck was on the menu on this morning, the first time I have had that happen.

I wasn’t too concerned but should have been as I did find a number of scratches on it after the fact. 🙁 Kind of a bummer but at least it makes for a good story. Haha.

As for this little one, it wasn’t really interested in the taste of my truck and with the adults having some conflicts among themselves, it sought shelter under the vehicle. From there, it safely watched the goings on and provided some amusing captures.

Our snowstorm has me thinking about springtime and the warmer days and photo opportunities it brings.

Last year, COVID caused the Forest Service to shut down Mount Evans, preventing me from visiting these high-altitude denizens. I am hopeful that this year things will have improved enough that they will allow it to open.

So, for this image, I go back to Labor Day weekend 2019, the last opportunity I had to visit the rarified air of Mount Evans and the mountain goats. This handsome fellow was really quite the poser and gave me some nice captures as he looked toward the early morning sun.

While mountain goats have become a somewhat iconic symbol of Colorado wildlife, they actually are not native to the state. Six transplant operations from 1948 to 1972 brought 50 or so of them as game animals and tourist attractions. They now number in the thousands.

As we finally start the slow climb out of winter and begin to see temperatures rise, my mind is wandering and jumping ahead to late spring and summer above timberline.

One of the highlights is always a visit with the mountain goat herd on Mount Evans. They are awesome creatures and tons of fun to watch but, of course, it is the little ones that steal the show.

Oftentimes they are bounding around acting like “kids” but they do occasionally take a break, as was the case when this picture was taken on July 4, 2019. With its mom grazing nearby, this little one laid down and rested, looking quite cute as it looked at me.

Last year, the mountain was kept closed due to COVID in what was, in my opinion, a questionable decision. Hopefully this year the National Forest Service will allow visitors again and I can get in some much-needed time with these high-altitude residents.

This is the time of year when I normally get anxious to head to 14,000 feet and see the newborns so I am deeming this #MoutainGoatMonday.

Notice though that I say “normally get anxious.”

Traditionally, Memorial Day weekend or soon after Mount Evans opens up. Unfortunately, Colorado has decided to keep it closed until at least July 1 due to the coronavirus.

While there is a chance I might see a mountain goat somewhere else above timberline before then, it isn’t very likely. So, my annual mountain goat fix will have to wait and be filled by images like this one from last summer.

Just go for it!  Indeed, this little mountain goat kid had no problem doing just that.

While only a few months old, these little guys show no fear and are just as adept as their parents at handing the rocky terrain of their home. Taken on Independence Day at the top of Mount Evans in Colorado, this particular pair was very rambunctious on this morning.

They were constantly leaping from boulder to boulder, pushing, shoving and just having a grand time. It of course was highly entertaining to watch and looking at the pics now, I can’t help but be anxious to get back up there again. Of course it is four months or more away before the road even opens so I have a long wait.

Kind of hard not to say, “Awww” when you look at that face!

The mountain goat kids are always a big highlight of the spring and summer and always entertaining to photograph. They spend much of their time bounding around and playing with each other but every now and then they settle down. When they do, you can get some nice portraits of the little ones, like this capture.

Taken back on July 4th, it had just finished a rousing session of play with another kid. Taken on Mount Evans in Colorado.

What a poser! This handsome fellow looked fantastic yesterday at 14,000 feet and is very worthy my pic for #MountainGoatMonday.

The road to the top of Mount Evans will be closed after today so I knew if I wanted to see the mountain goats before next spring, it had to be now. My destination was set and I was greeted with some pretty nice weather given the altitude. At 40 degrees it was chilly but the wind was actually not that bad, a rarity up there.

Not truly goats, these handsome creatures are found from Alaska down to the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Found at high altitudes, they are sure-footed climbers and built to withstand the alpine areas that they typically inhabit.

Mountain goats are actually not native to the Centennial State. They were brought here over six transplant operations from 1948 to 1972 as game animals and as tourist attractions. Those 50 or so mountain goats grew to numbers in the thousands today.

Two mountain goat kids have a bit of a game of king of the mountain recently. The sun had just crested the horizon casting everything in a beautiful, golden glow. This pair took it as a sign to begin playing and they were a ton of fun to watch. Taken on Mount Evans in Colorado.