With a body built for climbing, the mountain goat is a particularly speedy animal when navigating rocky, uneven vertical terrain. A mountain goat can climb more than 450 meters vertical meters (1,500 feet) in 20 minutes — that’s higher than the Empire State Building, and he does it without stairs.

Mountain goats are herbivores and spend most of their time grazing. Their diets include grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, mosses, lichens, and twigs and leaves from the low-growing shrubs and conifers of their high-altitude habitat.

Mountain goat breeding season begins in late November and lasts until early January. Gestation is about 150 to 180 days and 1 to 3 kids are born in May to June. The female gives birth on very steep cliffs in her home range to avoid predators. The young are mobile shortly after birth. The young are weaned after 3 to 4 months and stay with the mother until she gives birth the following year.