Mountain Goat, Baby

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This young mountain goat is not yet old enough to be on its own, so it stays fairly close to its mother. She was standing nearby when I took this photograph using a very long lens so neither of them would be disturbed.

Mountain goats are not true goats, but they are related. The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a sure-footed hooved mammal endemic to North America. They live in subalpine to alpine regions and are commonly seen climbing on impossibly steep cliffs, even in ice and snow. They have cloven hooves with two toes that spread wide to improve their balance and rough pads on the bottom of each toe to provide a good grip on slippery surfaces. Mountain goats are powerful and nimble climbers that can jump roughly 12 feet in a single bound.