Tag: Pack Animals

When a family friend recently returned from a big hunting trip, he mentioned he’d taken along his new pack goats.

“Pack goats?” I perked up at the thought of seeing goats on a hiking trail in the mountains.

“They’re very friendly,” he added.

A domestic goat is very different from a wild mountain goat. It’s very unlikely a hiker will ever see a wild goat because there are less than 2,000 scattered about in a few small herds in Utah. These herds can be traced back to the forty wild goats brought here from Olympic National Park in Washington beginning in 1967. These mountain goats have 2 distinctive layers of thick white hair and 2 black backward-slanting horns.

Mountain goats keep to the high mountains. If a hiker sees them at all, it’s most likely on a rocky ledge. A mountain goat is a great climber that has been clocked going up 75 vertical feet in 60 seconds. A rocky ledge is a good place to escape predators like bears and wolves. Unfortunately, it’s no defense against eagles, that has been known to swoop down and carry off a small kid.

About 10,000 years ago, villagers in Asia first domesticated the goat. To this day, in some parts of the world, owning a goat can make a big difference for a family. Bernice’s Goat is a beautiful children’s book that tells the true story of a nine-year-old girl in Uganda whose mother receives a gift of a goat from the Heifer International nonprofit. The goat soon gives birth to twins and the milk just flows. There is enough for the baby goats and Bernice’s five younger brothers and sisters…and still enough to sell a little to the neighbors. Her mother can now pay school fees, and Bernice gets her deepest wish. She is able to go to school.

Back in Cache Valley, I wasted no time inviting myself over to meet my friend’s new goats. The goats rushed up to the fence and seemed as curious about me as I was about them.

“Can we go for a walk?” I asked.

Soon we were headed up a nearby trailhead. Pack goats need a lot of exercise to keep in shape. This was just an easy workout. On a hunting trip, the goats wear a pack saddle, and each one will carry about 40 lbs.

By now I was really intrigued and bought a copy of John Mionczynski’s book, The Pack Goat. According to the author, a goat that has been bonded with humans when young will grow into a strong, sure-footed, trustworthy companion in the wilderness. John now runs a pack goat business that accompanies groups on overnight camping trips. His favorite goat is Julio.

Julio will watch everyone bedding down for the night. Then he will saunter over to someone and politely stand next to their sleeping bag. Slowly and gently, he’ll kneel down. Then he’ll lean over until he is comfortably snuggled against the sleeper.

“If you’ve never slept with a goat on a cold night [on a camping trip],” John writes. “You don’t know what you’ve been missing.”

I closed the book and sighed. I had one more thing to add to my bucket list.

This is Mary Heers, and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy Mary Heers,
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org, and audio Courtesy & © Anderson, Howe and Wakeman
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Wild About Utah Postings

Mionczynski, John, The Pack Goat, Reavis, January 1, 2004, https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Goat-John-Mionczynski/dp/0976255405

[We oppose introduction of non-native] Mountain Goats in the Bear River Range, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/advocacy/mountain-goats-in-the-bear-river-range/

McBrier, Page(Author), Lohstoeter, Lori(Illustrator), Beatrice’s Goat, Aladdin, Reprint July 1, 2004, https://www.amazon.com/Beatrices-Goat-Page-McBrier/dp/0689869908