Goats are known for a few things.
Some say they will eat anything, some cultures revere goats as sacred, and some say they are the best climbers in the animal kingdom.
Given their bulky statures, and seemingly inelegant physical traits—is this really true?
Are goats good climbers? Well, yes, goats are indeed good climbers—some of the best.
But it is important, up top, to make the distinction between domestic goats and mountain goats.
They are in fact two different genus, and so have slightly different characteristics.
Let’s find out more about this.
How well do goats climb?
Goats climb extremely well.
All goats are good climbers to a degree.
As I’ve said, though, mountain goats are generally the best climbers out of them.
Some of the bulkier, meat breeds we have developed through selective breeding would struggle with these climbs more than others.
Boer goats are rather large and bulky, and while they can still climb, might not really be inclined to do so.
The nimblest climbers, though, can climb even the most vertical cliff faces.
They can propel themselves up to the top without apparently even thinking too much about it.
There are several reasons they’re able to climb so well.
Their hooves are incredibly hard on the outside, meaning they can push them into tiny footholds that would otherwise hurt or injure their legs and hooves.
They have very powerful shoulder and neck muscles, which allow them to pull up their bulky bodies with ease.
They have evolved to be able to do this since the modern domestic goat seems to have originated in parts of the Middle East.
Many of these regions are highly mountainous, and so being able to climb and move around easily is already a selective advantage.
But it also means they can inhabit higher elevations with fewer predators, as well as fewer competitors for the available food.
An excellent ability to climb is a clear and obvious evolutionary advantage.
Do goats really climb mountains?
Yes, they do.
Again, though, just to reiterate, domestic goats and mountain goats are different animals in a number of ways.
Many feral goats that descend from domestic breeds are also excellent climbers.
Mountain goats always live in the mountains, as the name suggests.
They climb mountains as part of their daily lives.
They may live in high elevations but need to come down for water.
So, they will climb the mountains and also live on them.
There are limits to how high they will go, though.
They generally are not found in altitudes higher than 13,000 feet.
Mountain goats can comfortably inhabit elevations of this height, though.
They will never come all the way down to the surface, though.
Such populations will be supported by thriving mountain ecosystems and water sources.
Another popular image of goats is of them climbing walls—can they really do this?
Can goats climb walls?
Depending on what the wall was made of, yes, goats can often climb walls.
As I said, they are able to use their hard hooves to perch firmly and comfortably on apparently vertical surfaces.
If the wall was made out of anything which allows for these kinds of protrusions, like stone, then goats often can climb these walls.
This is just out a sense of curiosity, more than anything.
They are natural explorers, and love to look around wherever they can.
So, yes, under the right circumstances, goats can climb walls with apparent ease.
But do they ever fall?
Do goats ever fall off mountains?
Yes, they do, although it is very rare.
Usually, this occurs when two rival males butt heads.
They might do this on very precarious cliff edges and end up pushing each other off the mountain and falling to their deaths.
It is even rarer, though, that a goat simply falls in the process of climbing.
They are extremely sure footed and are very unlikely to fall off through clumsiness.
Mountain goats, especially, are very unlikely to fall.
They live their whole lives in the mountains, so they know how to climb.
So, are domestic goats as good climbers as mountain goats?
Can goats climb as well as mountain goats?
No, is the short answer.
While most of the things that make mountain goats good climbers does also apply to domestic goats—hard hooves, powerful shoulders, excellent balance—mountain goats are just that bit stronger and more lightweight.
Mountain goats are just more well adapted to it, both physically and behaviorally.
Climbing sheer cliff faces comes much more naturally to them.
They feel the natural instinct to climb because of the protection it provides against predators, as well as the untapped food sources.
Most domestic goats are good climbers, but probably wouldn’t want to climb a mountain.
Goats are plainly some of the best climbers in the world, then.
Their hard hooves allow them to plant themselves on invisible footholds, and their strong shoulders allow them to pull themselves up to greater heights.
Though there are, of course, limitations to what they can do, they ultimately are incredible climbers, capable of feats that might appear impossible to our ground-dwelling eyes.