Dirt Bath

[Marina Scarr]

Just as I was getting ready to call it a morning at Mt Evans b/c the light was getting high, this Moutain Goat plopped down right in front me and began vigorously tossing dirt all over himself. It took me so by surprise b/c I had never seen or heard of this behavior with goats. I am aware that the Bison take dirt baths to rid themselves of insects and keep them cool. There were no bugs, but maybe the goat was feeling a little hot, although it did not feel hot to me at all. :e3 As I was standing there trying to figure out what the heck he was doing and why, I realized that I had not lifted my camera. That was quickly remedied. It was a tough place to photograph but what I like here is the story and the inclusion of the various habitat, of which there was obviously a lot. What a scene!

I wonder if anyone has any ideas or facts about this behavior as it pertains to Mountain Goats?

Thank you for looking.

Marina Scarr
Florida Master Naturalist
www.marinascarrphotography.com (http://www.marinascarrphotography.com)


<iframe width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=10536&aff_net=1&widget_num=2444"><p>Sorry your browser does not support iFrame</p></iframe>

[Steve Canuel]

Hi Marina,
That's some good looking soil and the goat seems to really be digging it (pun intended). I like the flowery surroundings. I've got a few pictures of this activity myself and its always occurred on warmer, sunny days. I believe it's just an attempt to try and cool off. Found a few spots that look like regular wallows while hiking in the area. Although the air temp is a bit cooler up there, spending a little time in the direct sun can get you warmed up pretty quick.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Marina - Nice capture of the behavior with good low pov and the wildflowers add to the scene. I found this explanation on The Alaska Zoo site:

Mountain goats dig "bedding depressions" which are 1 to 2 inches deep, where they rest during the middle of the day and night. They also dust bathe in these depressions, possibly to remove parasites or shedding skin/hair.

http://www.alaskazoo.org/mountain-goat

TFS,
Rachel

[Jonathan Ashton]

It's my guess the primary reason for the behaviour is to shed excess fur, it seems there is a lot of loose fur on the shoulder already. I like the shot it conveys behaviour and I like the surroundings. Exposure and focus etc are all good.
If I remember correctly these goats are more closely related to antelopes than goats or sheep.

[Morkel Erasmus]

great behaviour captured here, Marina!
I think you can pehaps tease a bit more detail out of the goat - light was getting a bit harsh I would presume with the heat haze visible in the BG
how much of a crop is this? could you perhaps include EXIF? :e3

[Marina Scarr]

great behaviour captured here, Marina!
I think you can pehaps tease a bit more detail out of the goat - light was getting a bit harsh I would presume with the heat haze visible in the BG
how much of a crop is this? could you perhaps include EXIF? :e3

What's visible in the BG is actually a body of water, but it looks pretty muddy from this perspective. The habitat here, while abundant and varied, was very difficult to photograph. There was a bit rock in front of this goat, so I couldn't get down extremely low. This crop is about 95% of full frame. I tried to make it as visually pleasing as possible, which was't easy. Cleaned up bottom edge just a bit.

Sorry I totally forgot about EXIF and equipment, Morkel:

Canon 1D3, Canon 100-400 @ 210mm
F8, 1/1250sec, ISO 400, manual mode
Handheld

[Mark Wiseman]

Hi Marina,
I like your image. It has wonderful detail and I like the dirt that has been kicked up onto the goats hair and into the air as it gives a sense of action and behaviour that has and is occurring.
TFS and best wishes,
Mark.
:5

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Marina, good call on the habitat location and inclusion, gives a nice context to the image. Interesting behaviour, plus the additional information from Rachel, a bit like Bears, Hares etc, they too like to make hollows and depressions in which to lie or rest. Techs look good, but would like perhaps a bit more room to the RHS, a little tight for me. Tweaking the Levels just lifts its little more.

TFS
Steve

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Marina, nice behavior shot incl a good tonality throughout the frame and decent colors.
A bit tight for me , as Steve said a bit more room on RHS think could look good, and i would lift the mid tones a tad.

TFS Andreas

[Roger Clark]

Hi Marina,

As I live pretty close to Mt Evans and have been up there dozens and dozens of times, and while I've seen them digging and laying in such a spot, I don't recall seeing this level of digging activity. Also, considering there are not open bare dirt spots all over, it seems this level of activity is unusual. Nice catch on the action with the flying dirt.

Roger

[Steve Canuel]

Marina,
Got curious and started sorting through my goat pics. I found 8 different photos of wallowing/digging behavior (although none as vigorous as your capture), each taken at a different spot. I've also observed them eating the dirt around these wallows, probably for the mineral content at these locations.