Wyoming Wants Mountain Goats Killed

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I wish this had happened 40 years ago when I was much younger and in good shape. :( At age 77 I would be hard-pressed to hunt anything above 4,000 feet.

The bummer is that the hunter cannot retain the head or hide, only the meat.
 
H&Hhunter said:
Colorado is discussing eliminating goats too. Having had the incredible experience of hunting them, it breaks my heart hearing this. They are an incredible animal and absolutely an amazing critter to hunt
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They want to eliminate them completely or in specific areas? How do they taste?
 
Wyoming Wants Mountain Goats Killed


From what I understand, it's the National Park service that wants them eliminated from Grand Teton NP. The article from the UK is pretty misleading.
 
A good friend of mine got his goat in central Nevada some years ago. Long hard hike in to the area. When he finally got a shot, the distance was only 275 yards away; however, it was across a deep and very steep canyon. So he had a 1500' down and up the other side to the goat and then the return trip; that took about 8 hours as the slope up and down was all loose shale and very nasty to maneuver.........
He has a lot of heads on the wall; this one got the full body mount as it was his hardest ever hunt. Maybe WY should consider trapping and relocating
 
George P said:
Maybe WY should consider trapping and relocating
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I'd be for that, but WY would have to convince the National Park Service that trapping and relocating the goats is the way to go. I've been watching this story for a while now, and the NPS was planning on shooting the goats from helicopters. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is against the aerial gunning. They would rather allow hunting of the goats inside Grand Teton National Park. I'm not sure the NPS would go for just trapping and relocating.
Edited to add: the title of this thread is a little bit deceptive. It wasn't Wyoming that first wanted the goats killed. Grand Teton National Park is in Wyoming, and the National Park Service is who wanted the goats killed by shooting them from helicopters. It's the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission that has a better (in my opinion) plan for eliminating the goats from Grand Teton National Park.
 
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.308 Norma said:
I'd be for that, but WY would have to convince the National Park Service that trapping and relocating the goats is the way to go. I've been watching this story for a while now, and the NPS was planning on shooting the goats from helicopters. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is against the aerial gunning. They would rather allow hunting of the goats inside Grand Teton National Park. I'm not sure the NPS would go for just trapping and relocating.
Edited to add: the title of this thread is a little bit deceptive. It wasn't Wyoming that first wanted the goats killed. Grand Teton National Park is in Wyoming, and the National Park Service is who wanted the goats killed by shooting them from helicopters. It's the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission that has a better (in my opinion) plan for eliminating the goats from Grand Teton National Park.
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I imagine it comes down to time and money. It probably takes less of both to deal with the problem in on fell efficient swoop than to try to trap and relocate.

Plus, with relocating them you run the issue of them just being invasive in another area, thus not fixing the problem, just moving it.
 
Actually, they are no more invasive than wolves who repopulate an area where they lived historically. They repopulated the Tetons on their own where they lived in the 19th century.

daniel craig said:
Goats also carry diseases that are harmful to and kill reindeer.
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Are you talking about mountain goats or the barnyard species? Mountain goats are genetically closer to antelope than to goats.
 
Patocazador said:
Are you talking about mountain goats or the barnyard species? Mountain goats are genetically closer to antelope than to goats.
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As for that, I just know of livestock type goats.
Patocazador said:
Actually, they are no more invasive than wolves who repopulate an area where they lived historically. They repopulated the Tetons on their own where they lived in the 19th century.
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And that’s where “invasive” can be a really touchy subject. If you go far enough back a lot of the current species that have been native for a long time could be invasive. There’s some argument too that with climate change should we even be managing invasives as opposed to just letting those best suited for an area or environment live there.

It’s an on going debate and many times the term gets thrown at any species considered problematic to more popular species.
 
daniel craig said:
Goats also carry diseases that are harmful to and kill reindeer. Goats are like rats.
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I am highly confused by this comment. Why is a Mountain Goat anywhere near a reindeer? Mt Goats are native to North America and spend a large amount of their time above tree line at high altitudes. Reindeer are native to Europe and Northern Asia. Even if you are talking about caribou the two species don’t really hang out in the same hood.
 
H&Hhunter said:
I am highly confused by this comment. Why is a Mountain Goat anywhere near a reindeer? Mt Goats are native to North America and spend a large amount of their time above tree line at high altitudes. Reindeer are native to Europe and Northern Asia. Even if you are talking about caribou the two species don’t really hang out in the same hood.
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I think he may have been confused about the difference between mountain goats and domestic goats. Still not sure why the bit about reindeer. Not many mountain goats or domestic goats either, for that matter, in reindeer country.
 
Some hunt hogs in my State from helicopters, save a few steps in the mountains...
 
dh1633pm said:
What hasn't been answered is why are they invasive in this area?
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I think this is where we run into an issue of Invasive vs NonNative. Something can be non-native to an area and not be invasive. I don’t know much about mountains goats but I do know that “invasive” gets used incorrectly a lot of times.
 
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Like rabbits in Australia. Or hawgs in TX. Invasive. Or a Honda at a Harley bar. So what is that difference Mr Craig?

thanks bear creek for the answer earlier. Except for carrying disease, what trouble does a small bunch of animals cause?
 
bearcreek said:
They want to eliminate them completely or in specific areas? How do they taste?
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They are an odd taste. Very dense red meat and marbled with fat. The taste was rather neutral but a touch dusky. I didn’t really care for it that much. But it made for a good base for stews or chili.

The latest I heard was that they were eliminating goats in certain areas. And there was talk about eliminating them entirely in the future in Colorado.

At the time that they were transplanted from Montana it was believed that they had once been natural in Colorado and Wyoming. They were transplanted between 1947 and 1974. It’s only been recently that they say they were not natural here. There are no fossil records or native history of Mt Goats in Colorado or Wyoming. Their natural habitat is further west and North.
 
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