A Beast the Color of Winter

by Chadwick, Douglas H.

• ISBN13: 9780803264212
• ISBN10: 0803264216
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: Bison Books

Summary

"In North America there is one large animal that belongs almost entirely to the realm of towering rock and unmelting snow. Pressing hard against the upper limit of life's possibilities, it exists higher and steeper throughout the year than any other big beast on the continent. It is possibly the best and most complete mountaineer that ever existed on any continent. Oreamnos americanus is its scientific name. Its common name is mountain goat."Resourceful, belligerent, and unbelievably sure-footed, the mountain goat is a white-coated survivor from the Ice Age. Oreamnos americanus shares its dizzying alpine world with elk, eagles, bighorn sheep, and grizzlies. This first full-length book on the mountain goat offers a superbly written portrait of its life, habits, and environment. Douglas H. Chadwick tracked mountain goat herds for seven years, and his observations are richly textured and replete with fascinating and dramatic details. We learn of the mountain goats' lives from birth to adulthood, their feeding habits, unique social behavior and courtship rituals, and their long history. Chadwick also makes clear the troubling and escalating impact of the modern world on the mountain goat's wilderness home. This Bison Books edition features a new introduction by the author.Douglas H. Chadwick is a field biologist and the author of several books, including The Fate of the Elephant and Yellowstone to Yukon.

Author Biography

Douglas H. Chadwick is a field biologist and the author of several books, including The Fate of the Elephant and Yellowstone to Yukon.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction The High, Free Places	1	(15)
Early Days of the Sundance Kid	16	(13)
A Long, Uphill Climb	29	(16)
The Sudden Edge of Earth and Sky	45	(18)
Neighbors	63	(32)
The Yearly Ice Age	95	(25)
High Society	120	(32)
Heat Wave	152	(12)
Managing Democracy	164	(25)
Appendix I Criteria for Distinguishing Sex and Age of Mountain Goats During Summer	189	(3)
Appendix II Taxonomy of Rupicaprid Relatives	192	(3)
Bibliography	195	(8)
Index	203