site have moved to other parts of the 
peninsula. Such movement has not 
been observed from areas of lower den- 
sity. Most long-distance travelers have 
been young males, but some adult fe- 
males with kids have left the crowded 
conditions and moved as far as fifty 
miles away. Adult females usually ex- 
hibit a strong affinity for a particular 
home range, never moving more than 
six miles in any direction. The dangers 
associated with leaving familiar ter- 
ritory are considerable. Dispersing ani- 
mals move into environments where 
they have no knowledge of the location 
of food or other essential resources. 
On the other hand, young males are 
often excluded from breeding by 
older, more dominant individuals and 
therefore may benefit by seeking a 
less competitive social environment. 
Adult female goats do not compete 
for mates, but competition for re- 
sources might be expected to influence 
their behavior. As a result of the move- 
ment of adult females out of the high- 
density study area, some of the smaller 
outlying populations have grown sig- 
nificantly in the past two years. With- 
out exception, females in these less 
crowded areas have a higher birth rate 
than those in the high-density site. 
The social life of mountain goats 
is as fascinating as their ecology and 
demography, and the Olympic Moun- 
tains provide an ideal laboratory for 
detailed behavioral study. The mark- 
ing of many animals for individual 
recognition has greatly facilitated our 
work. In the past, few long-term stud- 
ies have been conducted on mountain 
goat behavior. Indeed, one authori- 
tative book on mammals still incor- 
Flett violet, above, is one of the alpine 
plants threatened by the grazing 
and trampling of the goats. 
Convex inner foot parts enable 
the two kids to gambol on the 
face of a rock wall, right. 
rectly describes the species’ mating 
system as monogamous. Actually they 
are polygynous: a dominant male may 
mate with several females and some 
subordinate males may not mate at 
all. During the rut, in late November 
and early December, the competition 
for access to estrous females may be 
intense. Males threaten each other by 
hunching their backs, presenting their 
broadsides, and swiping upward with 
their horns while circling around each 
other head to tail. They may also sit 
next to each other and paw the ground 
repeatedly with one foreleg. Their dig- 
ging results in the formation of the 
so-called rutting pits. 
Similarities in the appearance of the 
sexes has probably contributed to the 
monogamy myth. Although adult 
males may weigh up to 250 pounds 
and are on average 30 percent heavier 
than females, both sexes possess true 
horns, which continue to grow 
throughout an individual’s lifetime. 
The horns are dagger sharp, and al- 
though they are often used only to 
threaten other goats, fights occasion- 
ally become more serious. Males may 
carry the scars of many battles and 
have been known to kill each other 
while fighting over a female. 
During the summer months, adult 
females, juveniles of both sexes, and 
kids congregate in nursery bands. 
These are loose aggregations that in- 
clude anywhere from two to more than 
fifty individuals. Adult males and fe- 
males seldom interact with each other 
outside the rut, except when both 
sexes use the salt lick in late spring. 
During the summer, males may be 
solitary or travel in small groups of 
two or three. A similar pattern is seen 
in bighorn sheep, and some behav- 
iorists have speculated that this spatial 
segregation may reduce competition 
between males and their offspring. 
The same may be true of mountain 
goats. 
In mountain goat society, females, 
or “nannies,” are highly competitive 
and intolerant of one another. Al- 
though gregarious, they have a well- 
defined personal space with a radius 
of about three to six feet. Any in- 
trusion into this space by an individual 
other than offspring usually results in 
aggression or avoidance. Some of the 
patterns of aggression seen among fe- 
males are similar to those exhibited 
by males and include broadside dis- 
plays, as well as lowering and pre- 
senting the horns. Aggression among 
66 
