Did Mountain Goats EVER live in California?

[2rocky]

The furthest south that I have seen Goats is in Colorado.

Curious if their range ever included the 10,000 ft plus peaks in the Sierra.

Any thoughts from the WIldlife Biologists on here?

 

[mdunc8]

All the populations south of Montana, Idaho, and Washington were introduced. Even a lot of the populations in those states aren't native.

 

[trouthunterdj]

Thats exactly right. The biggest herd in Montana isn't even native.


ddj

 

[----]

Thats exactly right. The biggest herd in Montana isn't even native.


ddj

Did you count Glacier?

 

[trouthunterdj]

Crazy Mountains


ddj

 

[----]

Crazy Mountains


ddj

I was curious if Glacier was included in the data you went off of. It's not a huntable population in MT, but it's still a population.

 

[trouthunterdj]

I was just checking the huntable populations. I'm not sure what the Glacier population is?


ddj

 

[mdunc8]

Glacier National Park. Shooting a mountain goat there is frowned upon.

 

[montanadogs]

Northren Cascade's in Wa has them. Don't know if they were introduced though.

 

[mdunc8]

I believe they're native to the Cascades. However, the Olympic goats aren't.

 

[Oak]

EVER is a long, long time. MDunc posted the common belief. Who knows for sure?

 

[Dr.Swat]

I have thought about the natural southern range of the Rocky Mountain Goat. I believe, studying mountain ranges in Idaho, where I live, the extreme southern range of naturally occuring goat herds would be in the south part of the Pioneer Mountains, which are east of Hailey.

 

[mtmiller]

Thats exactly right. The biggest herd in Montana isn't even native.


ddj

Native to Montana.

Goats are boring.

 

[Carrion Carrier]

In A Beast he Color of Winter Douglas Chadwick tells of two types of North American mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus and Oreamnos barrintoni. Barringoni was a smaller goat that established ranges south of modern mountain goat range and included California, as well as Nevada, Arizona and Mexico.

 

[Carrion Carrier]

and is extinct.

 

[hk_willow]

I was just at the top of Ruby dome in NV (11,387'), and they give 2 tags out for billy's in that NV range. That's on the same level as CA, but I think they were introduced. We didn't get any glass on goats, but it wasn't for lack of trying... spent more time behind glass looking for them than I did hiking.