The mountain goat is not actually a goat but is a mountain-dwelling antelope related to the chamois of the European Alps. They are a very versatile feeder, both grazer and browser, feeding on grasses, lichens, herbs, bushes and deciduous and coniferous trees, depending on what is available.

Along with Dall's sheep and polar bears, they are the only large mammal that is completely white throughout the year for their entire lives. Goat hair is very thick and comes in two types: long (up to 8 in., or 20 cm), hollow outer guard hairs and a fine, dense undercoat that is 2 to 3 in. (5 to 8 cm) long. This coat keeps the animals warm even in intense cold and high winds.

One aid to identification of sex is how they are encountered. If you see a small group of animals that includes kids, this will be a nursery group of nannies with their kids and yearlings. Billies often live alone or in small groups of two to four. There will be no kids with the billies. Occasionally, a dry female will be found by herself.

Both males and females have slender, erect, stiletto-like black horns up to 12 in. (30 cm) long. On both sexes the annuli can be used to estimate age. Nannies' horns are thinner, have a slightly larger space between them on the forehead (the space is greater than the diameter of a horn) and are straighter with a curved tip, while billies have a more uniformly curved horn and it often looks like the horns are touching at the base on the forehead (the space is less than the diameter of a horn). However, it can be very difficult to tell the two apart. It is often easier to identify the sexes by looking at the group they are in.

Goat hooves are very well designed for their habitat. There is a tough pad that extends beyond the hard outer hoof that gives them good traction on slippery rocks. Also, the toes can spread to distribute weight or can grasp (like pliers) around rocks to add traction when moving downhill.

The rut occurs in November/December. Billies do not compete with intense head-butting like mountain sheep but will wallow in pits in which they have urinated and threaten each other. Gestation is about six months and a single kid is born.

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