12 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
nent and climbs where the soaring eagle rests. 
The majority of goats are born, live, and die on 
peak or plateau above the limits of tree life. 
The goat distinctly shows the response of an 
animal to its environment. Of course an ani- 
mal that can live among cajfions, ice, and crags 
must be sure-footed, keen-eyed, and eternally 
wide awake. He must watch his step and 
watch every step. Again and again he travels 
along narrow ridges where dogs would slide off 
or be blown overboard; he lives in an environ- 
ment where he is constantly in danger of step- 
ping on nothing or sliding off the icescape. 
Certain habits and characteristics are exacted 
from the animal which succeeds on the mountain 
tops. The goat’s rock and ice climbing skill, 
his rare endurance, and his almost eternal alert- 
ness all indicate that he has lived in this en- 
vironment for ages. His deadly horns and his 
extraordinary skill in using them show that 
at times he has to defend himself against ani- 
mals as well as compete with the elements. 
Commonly the Rocky Mountain goat lives 
in small flocks of a dozen or less, and _ his 
home territory does not appear to be a large 
one. Local goats of scattered territories make 
a short, semi-annual migratory journey and have 
different summer and winter ranges, but this 
appears to be exceptional. They feed upon 
