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Big Game: Goats
Mountain goats are relatively uncommon in the Yukon where they are at the northern limit of their range. An estimated 1,700 goats are found only in the lower third of the territory, mainly in isolated pockets in the southwest and in the Logan Mountains north of Watson Lake. More than half of the Yukon’s mountain goats live in Kluane National Park and the adjoining Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary.
Goat management decisions must be made with caution because of the nature of this species. When threatened, goats run to cliffs where they are out of reach of natural predators, but not hunters. Their range use is strongly traditional and predictable because of specialized habitat requirements. While these traits make things easy for goat hunters, they make goats vulnerable to over-harvest.
Since females are important for reproduction, you are encouraged to select male goats. Males tend to be solitary and are up to 30 per cent larger than females. They stretch forward to urinate, while females squat. The most effective way to identify a male is by stalking close enough to study the size and shape of the horns.
Female goats with young are protected from hunting.