Game animals · Side by side
Mountain Goat vs Bighorn Sheep
How to tell them apart
Quick answer
Color and horns settle it: a mountain goat is white and shaggy, with a beard and short black dagger-like horns on both sexes, while a bighorn is brown with a white rump and rams carry massive curled horns. Bighorn ewes have short brown horns but never a beard or a white coat.
Mountain goats and bighorn sheep share many western mountains, from Glacier National Park to the Colorado high country, and both are horned cliff specialists. They come from different branches of the goat-and-sheep family, though, and look and behave nothing alike up close. The difference matters to hunters, who need separate and hard-to-draw tags, and to hikers who meet both near trails.
Key differences
| Trait | Mountain Goat | Bighorn Sheep |
|---|---|---|
| Coat | White and shaggy, with a beard | Brown with a white rump and muzzle |
| Horns | Short, black and dagger-shaped on both sexes | Rams: massive brown curls; ewes: short sickle horns |
| Adult weight | Billies about 260 lb, nannies about 180 lb | Rams about 230 lb, ewes about 125 lb |
| Terrain | Sheer cliffs and ledges, often above timberline | Grassy slopes beside rocky escape terrain |
| Fighting style | Side by side, jabbing horns at the flanks | Head-on clashes |
| Rut | Late October to early December | Peaks November into early December |
| Classification | Goat-antelope (Oreamnos), not a true goat | True wild sheep (Ovis) |
| Boone and Crockett record | 60 4/8 (British Columbia, 2022) | 216 3/8 (Montana pickup, 2016) |
Where you will see both
Their ranges overlap through the northern Rockies of Montana, Idaho, Alberta and British Columbia, and in Colorado, where both are prized, though goats there were introduced. Where they share a mountain, they usually split it: goats stand on the cliffs themselves, while bighorns graze the grassy slopes and benches next to the rock and retreat into it when threatened. Goats also range far north and west along the coast into Alaska, where bighorns do not live, while bighorns extend south into desert ranges no goat could use.
Different families, different fights
Both belong to the same broad family as cattle, goats and sheep, but the mountain goat is a goat-antelope whose nearest relatives are the chamois and serow of Europe and Asia, not barnyard goats. Bighorns are true sheep. That shows in how they fight. Bighorn rams rear and crash head-on, their thick skulls built for impact. Mountain goats circle and jab at each other's flanks and hindquarters with their sharp horns, and billies sometimes carry puncture wounds on the hindquarters to prove it.
Hunting and eating each
Tags for both are scarce, and drawing one can take many years. Goat hunting is mostly a terrain problem: goats are not very wary, but a goat shot on a ledge can fall hundreds of feet, and hunters are urged to take billies and spare nannies. Sheep hunting demands more careful stalking and horn judging. On the table, wild sheep is mild and highly rated, young goats are very good, and old billies after the rut are tough enough to go straight into the grinder.
By the numbers
The traits the daily hunt game compares for each.
| Clue | Mountain Goat | Bighorn Sheep |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Big game | Big game |
| Habitat | Mountains | Mountains |
| Headgear | Horns | Horns |
| Region | Western mountains | Western mountains |
| Typical weight | 250 lb | 250 lb |
| Diet | Herbivore | Herbivore |
FAQ
Is a mountain goat a type of sheep?
No. It is not a true goat or a sheep. The mountain goat is a goat-antelope in its own genus, Oreamnos, most closely related to the chamois and serow of Europe and Asia.
Do female bighorns and mountain goats both have horns?
Yes. Nanny goats have black horns nearly as long as a billy's, though thinner. Bighorn ewes have short, slender brown horns that never form a ram's curl.
Which is better to eat, bighorn or mountain goat?
Most hunters rate wild sheep higher. Young goats taken before winter are excellent, but mature billies, especially after the rut, are tough and best ground or slow-cooked.
Can mountain goats and bighorn sheep live in the same place?
Yes. They share many ranges in the northern Rockies and Colorado, usually with goats on the steepest cliffs and sheep on the grassy slopes beside them.
Could you tell them apart from a few clues? Test yourself in today's puzzle.
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