Poor Goat Wasted life.

[walks with deer]

Driving the Coquihalla in mid October non hunting related approximately 4kms south of Merrit (towards Hope) My Wife spots a female mountain goat inside the fence bedded on a rock 8 yards from the highway inside the fence.

I think wow that is rare in this area.

Keep in mind its not the bear tunnel area or Coquihalla summit its 4kms south of Merrit.

I instruct my wife to call conservation.

Conservation asks our you sure its a wild goat? and many more questions.

I grab the phone and inform them its a nanny and its were abouts, they ask me how I know its a wild goat? They are not typically in this area.
I inform them its a female rocky mountain goat and yes I hunt goats, its on the highway I would not be calling for a Deer or Bear, and they should try and push it out the fence or tranq it.

They said they will send a man out right away! I say Okay.

Fast forward 2 weeks later to Nov 3rd my buddies see the goat dead on the side of the road were we saw it and sent me a pic.

I would think this animal should have been given more attention.:twisted:

Thoughts?

[Sofa King]

can almost guarantee that the CO's didn't even respond.
why can't they just believe someone when they report something?
you would have been better chasing it off yourself.

[shelg]

There was a good size group of goats up Styoma, around cabin lake. It's not that far as the crow flys.

[Sofa King]

There was a good size group of goats up Styoma, around cabin lake. It's not that far as the crow flys.

that group just got a little smaller.

[walks with deer]

I would have chased it if I was in my truck eg had tools to cut and repair fence.

Wives car and tight timeline.

The poor thing obviously lingered for a while trapped I drove that stretch in the dark 4 times in the dark from when I saw it and my Buddys saw it dead.

not understanding why co did not deal with it there is a mountain of government employees in the forestry office sitting at there desk. If they still did not have means I am sure Merrit gun club boys, or Logan lake club boys, or HBC boys could have done it with means and manpower.

Pretty disappointed.

I harvest a lot of wild life but I get pretty frustrated to see animals with low numbers in a area die for no reason. (especially females.)

I want to call the CO and ask him rational? but I wanted some time to pass first so I come across inquisitive instead of aggressive.

[boxhitch]

So its wildlife inside the highway corridor ............?
sounds like a highways issue , glad he didn't waste his time. CO's aren't 'sitters for critters.
Who looks after the deer and moose and bears that get into the right-of-way ? That could be a full time job.

[BCbillies]

A bad ending for this nanny.

Goats have been found in the strangest of places . . . like on the front stairs of the public library in downtown PG. That nanny was relocated.

[Sofa King]

I saw one of the biggest deer I've ever seen right on the side of the coq.
it was bedded on a rock ledge right above the ditch.
the thing was all rack.
maybe they find the passing traffic soothing.

[gutpile]

Why would there be a mountiangoat in that area ?
There no high mountian near there , very strange !
Whats the nearst high mountian that would support goats ?

[sawmill]

On my daily drive from Kimberley to Cranbrook and Elko I see dozens of Elk and deer dead on the road every year.I haven`t hit one yet in 15 years but sure came close.It`s sad as hell too see a deader.Few years back on the way to work I cut a cow elk out of a fence,legs all stuck,she kicked me in the chest as a thankyou.Felt good.I`m pro-active as a hunter,If I see critters in trouble I do what I can to save them.
And If they are obviously screwed I kill them quick as I can.Hammer between the eyes.
I ain`t waiting for Cops or CO`s to show up at 4 A.M.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Why would there be a mountiangoat in that area ?
There no high mountian near there , very strange !
Whats the nearst high mountian that would support goats ?


Mtn goats are found pretty much all over the province in suitable habitat. Many of these areas are not continuous mtn ranges but isolated areas. How did they get there? Mtn goats frequently wander.

SSS

[Ridge-Runner]

Yes I totally agree with Boxhitch, the government should be "managing" wildlife populations as a whole, not for individual outliers with the limited funds available to them. Firstly why is the goat there, is it sick, is it confused and wondering, is it hormonal and related to the onset of the breeding season, is it a genetic anomaly; and with this knowledge would relocating it work or would it demonstrate the same behavior and wonder off into what we perceive as unintentional movements or poor habitat selection again ?

Could be evolution at work in a dispersing population or it may be natural selection and the risks associated with atypical behavioral movements; sometimes the pays off are big and sometimes they are not but movement like this are natural, sadly the consequences were adverse in this case.


I personally would rather see the ppl or manpower mentioned earlier completing habitat restoration, lobbying for domestic sheep and goats issues so these types of natural movements don't have catastrophic consequences where contact and pathogens can be introduced back into wild herds. Or the very least keeping CO's time free for catching offenders and their vehicles full of gas.

[MRP]

Prince George had a goat right down town a bought 20 years ago. 100km away from any good mountains.

The problem with talking to a CO is they deal every day with people who can't tell the difference between a chickadee and a crow. How many people think the quarter has a moose on it. They think everyone is that dumb. I don't phone any more. Just do what needs to be done keep quiet.

[Ranger95]

Driving the Coquihalla in mid October non hunting related approximately 4kms south of Merrit (towards Hope) My Wife spots a female mountain goat inside the fence bedded on a rock 8 yards from the highway inside the fence.

I think wow that is rare in this area.

Keep in mind its not the bear tunnel area or Coquihalla summit its 4kms south of Merrit.

I instruct my wife to call conservation.

Conservation asks our you sure its a wild goat? and many more questions.

I grab the phone and inform them its a nanny and its were abouts, they ask me how I know its a wild goat? They are not typically in this area.
I inform them its a female rocky mountain goat and yes I hunt goats, its on the highway I would not be calling for a Deer or Bear, and they should try and push it out the fence or tranq it.

They said they will send a man out right away! I say Okay.

Fast forward 2 weeks later to Nov 3rd my buddies see the goat dead on the side of the road were we saw it and sent me a pic.

I would think this animal should have been given more attention.:twisted:

Thoughts?


I have always found in my dealings with any government official (LEO's included), that it is good to get all the details of the person you are dealing with for record, funny how that tends to prompt action!

[ducktoller]

Useless often. Found a gutpile at derby reach park(my dog suddenly had a liver in its mouth). I called non emergency first but since it didn't appear human they suggested I call the CO (already unimpressed).
FYI gutpile was on shoreline, said they'd send someone right away.
Got a call the next day saying they couldn't find them.
No shit they got washed away or eaten.

So many levels of unprofessional.

[ducktoller]

Fwiw I've also been involved in great dealings with law enforcement and ecomm people as well including insane suicide interventions.

I don't agree with people saying the CO shouldn't come. Goats are mmuch more fragile than other animals when it comes to loss.

[Ridge-Runner]

Interesting thoughts here, I have to be honest here, I’m not sure you could find any CO in the province that would not spend a day hunting down, darting and immobilizing a mountain goat and relocate it back into some “natural “habitat. It would definitely take a few folks to help pack it to the truck depending on where it ended up after being immobilized. To move it properly a helicopter would be needed to move it back to other goats and to ensure it’s not going to end up back at another road doing the same thing or following the road back down and ending up in another undesirable place (contact with domestics). Spending an afternoon to ensure the safe release and relocation after the residue effects of drugs are metabolized, maybe a radio collar should be attached and a monitoring strategy should be designed to scrutinize the long term success (N=1). Sounds like a terrible day to me, doing paper work and mundane daily tasks are why Conservation Officers were firstly attracted to this career, don’t tell anyone, it’s the paper work, I know it !!

If I had to guess I would think it wasn’t the Conservation Officers choice not to do this, I would think budgets, time, man-power, the CO’s supervisors, the regional wildlife manger, whether the relocation would be successful, if the goat had contact with other domestic goats or sheep on its travels, whether relocating would jeopardize other goats or sheep where it was released, its general health, the size and viability of the local goat population, liability issues if the semi-immobilized goats gets on the highway, etc….. Just a guess though

If a population can’t withstand natural mortality, then this a lot bigger issue than moving an individual goat to make ppl feel good. Also I guess disparagements should be directed more appropriately.

I guess my question is, if an animal dies in the ecosystem how can that be deemed a waste ?

[Sofa King]

^^I'm less concerned about the waste.
a bigger concern should have been to the danger to the public.
what if one of your wives and child had drove along there later that night and crashed because of the goat on the road and died?
then I'm sure more would have wanted the co to at least have went and had a look.

[Sofa King]

Why would there be a mountiangoat in that area ?
There no high mountian near there , very strange !
Whats the nearst high mountian that would support goats ?

there's animals almost everywhere in this province that people don't think are there.
there's a pile of goats by summerland, no huge mt there either.
nobody used to think there were wolves in the Okanagan.
I've seen elk in places they aren't believed to be in.
and also grizzly.
I hate when people say "there aren't any ...... in that area".
animals will be wherever they want to be.

[Sofa King]

it's kinda like how so many think that now the whitetail are expanding their ranges and are in areas they've never been before.
all the ones I'm seeing, there were whitetail in those areas over 20 years ago that I saw, and they were probably there for a long time before that.
their #'s have flourished though, it seems, as they are being seen much more now.

[264mag]

Goats do strange things, 2 years ago while moose hunting near Nazko we encountered a billy running down a back road darting in and out of the timber. We followed him for about a km in the truck. He was about 100 km from any real goat country. We asked some locals about this and they said that every now and then they see the same thing.
This was the craziest thing to see.

[goatdancer]

Goats do strange things, 2 years ago while moose hunting near Nazko we encountered a billy running down a back road darting in and out of the timber. We followed him for about a km in the truck. He was about 100 km from any real goat country. We asked some locals about this and they said that every now and then they see the same thing.
This was the craziest thing to see.

Hence the saying " crazy old goat ".

[walks with deer]

Boxhitch.
You missed the point i am not asking for sitters for critters.
If it was a eagle in dewdney or a deer on the coquhalla and already hurt i would slit its throat and move on.
However that said a nanny in a low population should be protected.
Sofa king gets out alot he gets it there are isolated populations of game allover the province.if mortality can be avoided it should.

shame on bc conservation service... Options existed.

instead they were harresing some guy over a rough grouse with wings attached waiting for a bird identifire.

[boxhitch]

I didn't miss anything.
Agreed , protection should be offered where possible , but also has to be reasonable. Our highways and railways kill thousands of animals each year , and nature itself is cruel .
Just saying I think its beyond the mandate for a CO to come to the aid of a single nanny . They are not game keepers, they are enforcers .

[Rob]

I lived in Banff National Park for 8 yrs, if ever there was a problem with wildlife someone was there within the hour. Maybe Park animals are worth more...?

[walks with deer]

Boxhitch

are you a co? They are to protect wildlife. And human wildlife interaction.
A nanny getting hit at 120km is not natural selection when she is trapped by a fence on a highway..