Animals The Animal Kingdom: wild or domestic!

That is a fantastic photo that I am envious of. I have only encountered mountain goats once and I treasure that moment.

This was a fantastic time with the goats. We came around a corner near the top of the mountain and probably 6 or 7 goats were and several were babies. They all were on the inside of a switchback on the mountain. I was able to park a little distance away in a pull-off and slowly my wife and I approached the group. They stirred a little but settled down as I inched my way toward them. When I got to my spot to get on my stomach, I looked around and my guide friend was also there and he was inching his way toward me. We said not a word, smiled and both found a spot to lie down. We spent over an hour with the goats, big ones, and babies, and they did not run away even when a car would come around the switchback. Some would park and get out but they faced the withering stare of the guide friend and they would come slowly with point and shoots and phones to record that magical meeting.
At another time when it was cold and misty, we drove to the top of Mt. Evans and saw none. I decided to use the open public restroom on the top of the mountain and as I walked in, a huge male goat was licking the floor of the entrance to the restroom. He was effectively blocking me and momentarily, I had a slight amount of caution as he came toward me slowly, rubbed against me, and went outside. By the time, I got out, there were several goats around. That was my encounter with goats. Much better than seeing my wife and my friend getting charged by a bull elk during mating season. The guide got her behind a bunch of trees and the elk lost interest.

Mixing with wildlife is exhilarating but one needs to be prepared and scout out options. My wife and I are often amazed to see a carload of people pull up to a great photo opportunity and run toward the animals with a cellphone. Some get pissed when you tell them that mating season is not the time to irritate the wild animals. I even saw a young father hand in hand with his young son going to pet a bison in Yellowstone. He was screamed at by all the people and he did not understand that bison is one of the most dangerous wild animals, My wife and I were in Yellowstone with cameras on tripods taking long-distance photos of the bison herd when they switched directions and headed straight for us. We jumped in our car and the bison went around it on both sides and amazingly, the tripods and cameras were not hurt.
 
And after a brief search, it appears that I’ve never bothered posting any of the photos from my mountain goat encounters. Not sure it stands up to @jhawk1000 shot, but here’s a favorite.
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@jhawk1000
I don’t know which I enjoy more— your photo or your commentary.
It’s the photo…no it’s story…the photo…story
Definitely— yep it’s that.
On another not; have you calmed down from THE WIN
Barely. We often drive to Lawrence to see a basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse but being there is less stressful than watching on TV. I was okay with a triple-overtime win over Texas Tech in person but that North Carolina game just about made every emotion I had touched---sadness at the first half--exhilaration at the second half. I have seen 1988, 2008, and now the 2022 championships. I have been a privileged ex-law student from KU.
 
I am attaching a couple more of the photos of the Rocky Mountain Goat family. There were babies in the group and I worked very hard but very slowly to move up to get different poses as the young one moved about. There are three photos, one of the youngsters with a parent, two of the young, and two of one on the edge of the mountain.
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You never know what you will find in Rocky Mountain National Park. For years we were unable to photograph moose close up. Then, for two trips in a row, we found them, waited for them to come closer, and got some shots of them. We particularly loved the young moose with her mother grazing by the stream. We found them in an area where a lot of drive-by photographers can't see them and we did not violate any rules nor did we in any way interact with the pair.
It is a hard time sometimes to find the animals, another to find them in an area accessible to photographers but somewhat empty of the cameras and cell phones. My wife is the patient one. She sets up, keeps her eyes open, and waits, and waits, and waits. She has taught me that time is relative to animals and when in their world, you need to know that. I enjoyed about an hour with these moose, with my silent wife and no one running into restricted areas for a picture.

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You never know what you will find in Rocky Mountain National Park. For years we were unable to photograph moose close up. Then, for two trips in a row, we found them, waited for them to come closer, and got some shots of them. We particularly loved the young moose with her mother grazing by the stream. We found them in an area where a lot of drive-by photographers can't see them and we did not violate any rules nor did we in any way interact with the pair.
It is a hard time sometimes to find the animals, another to find them in an area accessible to photographers but somewhat empty of the cameras and cell phones. My wife is the patient one. She sets up, keeps her eyes open, and waits, and waits, and waits. She has taught me that time is relative to animals and when in their world, you need to know that. I enjoyed about an hour with these moose, with my silent wife and no one running into restricted areas for a picture.

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Beautiful images!
Thanks for sharing.
 
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