DWR Mountain Goat Viewing Event

This is not going to be a hike, but it was a fun adventure so I am including it. The Utah Division Of Wildlife Resources regularly holds wildlife viewing days. Today they were doing one in the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon to see mountain goats. Now, considering every time we go up that canyon I have my head craned up to hopefully spot them, and have never seen one. I had hoped that maybe if a bunch of people are together looking for them, maybe my chances would increase. So, we made that our adventure today.

I follow the Utah DWR on Facebook so I see the wildlife viewing events there. But you can also see upcoming events on their website.

Naturally, because I was hoping to have some assistance locating the goats, I got out of the car, looked up and saw some immediately.

But hey, I am glad the goats got the memo and showed up.

They are so high up there though that even with a 300 MM Telephoto lens they are just small dots.

On the other side of the canyon we found rock climbers. However that is not nearly as interesting.

Cropped in a little closer. Still not going to have any amazing pictures of goats today, but I am just happy I finally saw them!

I think I see a couple of kids.

Like I said, not the best pictures.

It really was neat watching them wander around the cliffs.

In a precarious spot.

The Utah Rocky Mountain Goats were transplanted here from Washington in the late 1960’s The pamphlet they gave me says they were re-introduced which implies they did occur here naturally at some time before.

They hang out in the mouth of the canyon from mid November until mid April. Afterwards they tend to head higher and deeper into the canyon.

There seemed to be 2 groups, but some of them wandered back and forth so maybe one big group that was separated. How many do you see?

Mountain Goats graze on grasses and shrubs and sometimes mosses and lichen.

I think one of the things that make them tough to spot is that they blend into our white granite cliffs.

And a shot of the peaks above.

More of the peaks above.

The canyon wall. The goats were were watching were in the area with the little green box around it. So pretty high up there!

We decided to get a quick hike in, but then came back again.

The mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon (DBP). I wonder if one of those ridges is the one we hiked along to Red Pine Lake.

A little over an hour later and they are still there.

This herd, The Wasatch Herd, is 1 of 4 herds in Utah. The other herds include one near Ogden, Called The Willard Peak Herd; one in the Uintas, called the Uinta Herd, and the Tusher Herd down South.

Last shot of this magnificent beast taking in the views.

Fun photo booth to see you as a mountain goat. Probably more for the kids, but nobody was using it at the moment so we got our silliness on.

I tongue in cheek joked with the DWR that they totally placed the goats there to make it a successful event. They responded that they work with specialist to try and time the best chances and locations to make them successful, but did acknowledge sometimes weather, or other factors come in to play, but usually they see wildlife at these events.

And heading back towards home, a view of downtown Salt Lake. (DBP).

I am really happy we decided to come out and do this. I not only saw my very first mountain goat, I saw my first dozen or so in one sitting! Yea they were far away but it was still great watching their antics high upon the cliff sides. The DWR also provided a bunch of telescopes to see them more closely. They also had a bunch of great stuff to make it a fun family event including a photo panel, and a table with skulls, horns, hooves and fur to touch and interact with. And it was completely free. This was the first wildlife viewing event I have attended, but I definitely think we will check out future events. Yes, I am a huge wildlife nerd. I blame my mom who, when I told her what we were doing today almost immediately got in the car to head down to join us. Even if you aren’t a big wildlife nerd like me, it is still great to see it, and they made it really easy and fun. I highly recommend it.

10 out of 10 Squirrels.