SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 14, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Ten mountain goats transplanted from southern to northern Utah have already checked out three counties, according to state wildlife officials.
The big goats were gathered from a thriving population on the Tushar Mountains (which span Beaver and Piute counties) and dropped onto Ben Lomond Peak just north of North Ogden to augment a much smaller herd, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
The 10 were trucked in special transport pods, two per pod, to their destination, the pods then attached to a helicopter one at a time, the DWR said, and flown to waiting biologists on Ben Lomond Peak.
“Once there, the biologists opened the pods, and the goats sprinted onto their new home.”
The 10 include eight nannies, one yearling billy and one kid billy. Nine were fitted with GPS tracking collars. After their release, nine of the 10 goats traveled north to Willard Peak, a few miles north in Box Elder County, according to GPS tracking collars on the goats, the DWR said Thursday.
“One goat, though — a yearling nanny — had a mind of her own,” officials said. After she was released, she traveled all the way east to Woodruff, in Rich County, a 20-mile jaunt.
“She then spent a few days wandering through Rich and Cache counties before turning west and heading back to where she started. She then traveled north to Willard Peak and is now with the rest of the herd!”
