How do mountain goats climb such difficult terrain?
Mountain goats are expert climbers and can cross difficult terrain with apparent ease. But how do they do it? Their agility is mainly due to the construction of their hoofs. These have soft bottom pads which are surrounded by a hard outer shell. Unlike other cloven-hoofed animals, the two parts of the goat’s hoof can move independently of each other. These features enable mountain goats to grip rough and slippery surfaces when climbing.
