Mendenhall Ice-Cliff Goats
Juneau Icefield & Mendenhall, Alaska · Arctic & Subarctic · mountain_alpine
About this place
Study Oreamnos americanus split-hoof traction biomechanics and primary succession along deglaciated granite cliffs.
For kids: Meet shaggy white climbers whose grippy rubbery hooves cling to tiny ledges high above blue glacier ice!
Mendenhall Ice-Cliff Goats · 360° Habitat Camp
What to look for
- Polished granite escape cliffs — Oreamnos americanus refuge terrain. Scan the steep glacially scoured granite walls (>50° slope) used as predator refugia
- Dense blue glacier ice — Long-wavelength red absorption. Centre the compressed glacial ice zone exhibiting blue spectral scattering
- Pioneer alder & lupine moraine — Frankia nitrogen-fixing succession. Locate the recently deglaciated moraine colonized by nitrogen-fixing Sitka alder
Source: Lewinson & Stefanyshyn (2016), Zoology — Cloven-hoof compliance & micro-asperity friction in Oreamnos americanus.
Ask together: Why does glacier ice look bright blue even though fresh snow on top looks pure white?
Field quiz
Kids' question: What makes a mountain goat's hooves grip slippery rock cliffs so safely?
- A hard outer edge around a soft, grippy rubber-like pad
- Sticky tree syrup on their toes
- Tiny suction tentacles like an octopus
Answer
A hard outer edge around a soft, grippy rubber-like pad
Adults' question: Taxonomically, which lineage does the North American mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) actually belong to?
- Rupicaprinae (goat-antelopes allied to chamois, takin, and serows)
- Domestic Capra hircus feral descendants
- Cervidae antlered mountain deer
- Camelidae New World llamas
Answer
Rupicaprinae (goat-antelopes allied to chamois, takin, and serows)
360° photo: mypubliclands, Public domain
See it live: Live check: Mendenhall Glacier & Cliff Cam
- By day
- Mountain goats on high ridges, bald eagles, Arctic terns & calving icebergs Watch katabatic glacier winds ('Taku winds') rippling Mendenhall Lake below the Steep Creek salmon-bear corridor.
- By night
- Blue twilight glacier face, porcupines & black bears along moraine trails Dual-layer pelage (hollow guard hairs over dense cashmere-fine wool) insulates mountain goats down to −45 °C.
Other language: Русский