A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on sheer rock faces, near-vertical cliffs and icy passages.

Mountain goats generally avoid venturing down into lower elevations—except during seasonal food shortages or during particularly bad weather—as the extreme elevation which they inhabit is their primary defense against predators such as black and brown bears, pumas and wolves.

The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae (along with antelopes, gazelles, and cattle).

[citation needed] Given that all major caprine lineages emerged in the Late Miocene and contain at least one but usually several species from the eastern Himalayan region, their most likely place of origin is between today's Tibet and Mongolia or nearby.

No Pliocene mountain goats have been identified yet; the known fossil record is fairly recent, entirely from North America, and barely differs from the living animals.

Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15–28 cm (5.9–11 in) in length, which contain yearly growth rings.

[4][5][6] The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes with pitches exceeding 60°, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart.

Introduced populations can also be found in such areas as Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.

Their diets include grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, mosses, lichens, and twigs and leaves from the low-growing shrubs and conifers of their high-altitude habitat.

[11] Nannies in a herd undergo synchronized estrus in late October through early December, at which time females and males participate in a mating ritual.

Mature billies stare at nannies for long periods, dig rutting pits, and fight each other in showy (though occasionally dangerous) scuffles.

Nannies give birth, usually to a single offspring, after moving to an isolated ledge; post partum, they lick the kid dry and ingest the placenta.

Although lactation is mostly finished at one month, kids follow their mothers closely for the first year of life (or until the nanny gives birth again, if this does not occur the next breeding season); nannies protect their young by leading them out of danger, standing over them when faced by predators, and positioning themselves below their kids on steep slopes to stop freefalls.

The cougar, or mountain lion, is perhaps the primary predator, being powerful enough to overwhelm the largest adults and uniquely nimble enough to navigate the rocky ecosystem of the goats.

Though their size protects them from most potential predators in higher altitudes, nannies must sometimes defend their young from both bald and golden eagles,[12] which can be a predatory threat to kids.

[15] Officials finally chose to eradicate them from the Olympic Peninsula, removing hundreds, mostly by capturing them and relocating them to the Cascade Mountains.