Mountain Goat Kid COunt

Spend your days riding your horse across the mountain tops and glassing the slopes for Mountain Goats with unparalleled opportunities for mountain goat viewing. Record the location, age and sex of all goats that we see to build up detailed records of the goat herds to assess annual herd recruitment. Actively contribute to the development of wildlife management practices that help maintain mountain goat populations at a sustainable herd size and contribute to real BC wildlife conservation.

Why are mountain goats at risk?

Mountain Goats are a relic from the ice age and only adapted to a few mountainous habitats. Over 50% of the world’s population live in BC, Canada. So BC is especially responsible for this species. However, activities such as heli-skiing and snowmobiling in goat winter range disturbs the goats and displaces them from their winter range which is critical for their survival. Mountain goats have a low reproductive rate, are easily visible in steep terrain and do not easily repopulate ranges after they have been removed.

How can we contribute to their conservation and stewardship?

Together with the Chilcotin Ark Institute, Wilderness Trails organizes kid counts. On each kid count, we carefully record the location, age and sex of all goats that we see. This allows us to build up detailed records of the sheep herds to assess annual herd recruitment and assess if kid death is more likely a cause of predation, disease or due to other reasons. From this, we shape our conservation management practices to help maintain mountain goat populations at a sustainable herd size and contribute to BC wildlife conservation.