Mountain goat
Oreamnos americanus (Blainville, 1816)
The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), also called the Rocky mountain goat, is a mammal of the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae, tribe Caprini. It is a large, terrestrial, diurnal herbivore, with a representative adult body mass of 72.5 kg and values up to 77.23 kg.
Quick facts about the mountain goat
Gestation lasts 182.6 days, it has 1 litter per year with 1.32 young per litter, and it reaches sexual maturity at 2.5 years. Its lifespan is 19.17 years, with values up to 20.8 years, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 72.5 kg – 77.2 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 19.2 years – 20.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- mountainsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 175 days – 183 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.32src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mountain goat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the mountain goat live?
Not recorded
What is the mountain goat?
The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. 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 of their habitat is the primary defense against predators such as black and brown bears, pumas and wolves.
Despite its vernacular name and both genera being in the same subfamily (Caprinae), the mountain goat is not a member of Capra, the genus that includes all true goats (such as the wild goat (Capra aegagrus), from which the domestic goat is derived); rather, it is more closely allied with the other bovids known as "goat-antelopes", including the European chamois (Rupicapra), the gorals (Naemorhedus), the takins (Budorcas) and the serows (Capricornis), of Japan and eastern South Asia.
From the Wikipedia article “Mountain goat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_goat&oldid=1375407443), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mountain goat endangered?
The mountain goat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the mountain goat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusOreamnos
- SpeciesOreamnos americanus (Blainville, 1816)
Synonyms Antilope americana, Antilope americans, Antilope lanigera, Oreamnos americanus columbiae, Oreamnos americanus columbianus, Oreamnos americanus dorsatus, Oreamnos americanus kennedyi, Oreamnos americanus lanigera, Oreamnos americanus missoulae, Oreamnos americanus montanus, Oreamnos americanus sericeus, Rupicapra americana
Other names and names in other languages (30)
- Rocky mountain goatEnglish
- Rocky mountain goatEnglish
- Rotsgebergte-bokAfrikaans
- ماعز جبليArabic
- ماعز جبل روكيArabic
- cabra de los montes rocososAsturian
- kamzík bělákCzech
- SnegedDanish
- SchneeziegeGerman
- Κατσίκα του ΒουνούGreek
- cabra de las RocosasSpanish
- lumivuohiFinnish
- chèvre de montagneFrench
- Chèvre des RocheusesFrench
- havasi kecskeHungarian
- AploceroItalian
- Capra delle neviItalian
- シロイワヤギJapanese
- 마운틴고트Korean
- 흰바위산양Korean
- 흰바위염소Korean
- sx̌ʷiƛ'əyʔlut
- SnøgeitNorwegian Bokmål
- SneeuwgeitDutch
- kozioł śnieżnyPolish
- Cabra-americanaPortuguese
- Cabra-das-montanhasPortuguese
- Снежная козаRussian
- SnögetSwedish
- 洛磯山羊Chinese
Relatives of the mountain goat
Other species in the same family Bovidae.
Water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis
African buffalo
Syncerus caffer
Impala
Aepyceros melampus
Muskox
Ovibos moschatus
Chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra
Aurochs
Bos primigenius
CompareMountain goat vs Water buffaloMountain goat vs African buffaloMountain goat vs ImpalaMountain goat vs Muskox
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mountain goat?
The mountain goat is a mammal in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla, placed in the subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Caprini.
How heavy is a mountain goat?
An adult mountain goat weighs 72.5 kg, with values up to 77.23 kg reported by our sources.
What does the mountain goat eat?
The mountain goat is a herbivore.
Is the mountain goat endangered?
No. The mountain goat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does a mountain goat live?
The mountain goat has a lifespan of 19.17 years, with values up to 20.8 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a mountain goat have?
The mountain goat has 1.32 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 182.6 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-goat
“Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-goat.
@misc{mountain_goat_2026,
title = {Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-goat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}