Saturday, February 13, 2010

Amazing Goats

Living in mountainous regions around North America, mountain goats can be found at altitudes of up to 13,000 feet, climbing cliffs all day long, in search of food. Thanks to their cloven hooves, each featuring two widely-spaced toes that provide great balance, mountain goats can challenge any seasoned climber and probably best him.

Their double-layered, thick white coats provide camouflage in snowy settings, but the altitude they can reach provides enough protection from most predators. And if they happen to run into trouble, they can jump 12 feet in one leap, and reach a safe point. Just check out the pics to get an idea of their climbing capabilities.

















































This is such pure insanity that I thought was a total hoax the first time I saw it, but those really are goats and they really are in trees.

The tree the goats are in is an evergreen argan tree. It is found mostly only in Morocco. The tree reaches heights of 25-30 feet, and has a knobby, twisted trunk that allows for goat climbers. The goats climb the tree because they like to eat the fruit of the tree, which is similar to an olive.