Study: Goats rule the roost at mineral licks

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

When it comes to mountain goats and bighorn sheep competing over the same mineral lick, the goats, with their sharp horns and grumpy disposition win the battle.

That’s according to a new study by biologists Joel Berger, Mark Biel and Forest P. Hayes.

The study examined goat and sheep interactions at mineral licks in Glacier National Park near Marias Pass, Caw Ridge in Alberta, Canada and Mount Evans in Colorado.

The two big mountain species are native to Alberta and Glacier, but goats were introduced to Colorado.

Both bighorn sheep and mountain goats are known to travel long distances to literally eat the soils at mineral licks. Animals that do this are known as geophagous.

“Sodium, in particular plays a prominent role in several bodily functions, including lactation, though a singular universal role of sodium in ungulate sale licks may not exist,” the study notes, citing previous studies.

In Glacier, biologists watched goats and sheep interact over two field seasons from late May to June in 2020 and 2021. The study was born after Berger and Hayes saw the two species interact in 2019. They then decided to look into it further.

What they found was that in most cases, when the goats approached the sheep, the sheep moved away, particularly from male goats, which accounted for 68% of encounters.

Most were fairly passive encounters where 73% of subordinate sheep skipped or walked away. In 12% of encounters, neither the sheep or the goats changed their behavior. But more than 5% of encounters were horn threats — where the goat lowered its horns and tried to poke the sheep.

The sheep weren’t small sheep either, photos show them as adult rams.

A male bighorn sheep has a formidable battering ram of horns on its head, which can weigh more than 30 pounds.

The male mountain goat’s horns, however, are pointed and can puncture flesh.

Sparring is not unheard of in other regions of the world. Previous studies have shown elephants will dominate water holes in the deserts of Africa and rhinos will take up shade over other species under coveted trees.

The study suggests, however, that introduced mountain goat populations, like those in Colorado and other states, like Wyoming and Utah, should, perhaps, get more scrutiny, as the goats are flourishing in those environments where they’re not native, but bighorn sheep are.

The study also suggests that mineral licks be taken into account when doing human projects, such as road building. Roads have and continue to have, impacts on existing licks.

There may also be fewer licks than previous years, as there is less water in the hills due to climate change. The minerals typically seep out of the slopes when the snow melts, but there is less snow and far fewer glaciers than there used to be.

“…Just as limited waters can be managed to benefit biodiversity, proactive recognition and management of emerging mineral licks may facilitate conservation of geophagous species,” the study notes.

In Glacier 85% of the glacier/ice fields have been lost since the park’s creation in 1916 and they continue to contract today.

Berger’s study calls for more research and field studies on the matter.

“If – which is an important caveat – under global change, contests for abiotic variables increase, this could be an additional unforeseen consequence of climate change with impacts to biodiversity. If, however, curiosity about nature coupled with field studies continue their decline, we will never know,” he concludes.