Locking horns... at 13,000 feet: Mountain goats dice with death as they clash in Italian Alps

By EMMA REYNOLDS

High and mighty: Two young mountain goats lock horns in a terrifying play-fight at 13,000ft, in preparation for the 'real' battles over females in December

This is the death-defying moment in which two mountain goats lock horns on a tiny plinth of rock in the Italian Alps - 13,000 feet up.
The risk-taking pair began play-fighting halfway up a mountain in Montasio and soon found themselves battling at this perilous spot as another goat looked on.
Brave photographer Marius Sabo captured the remarkable moment as he tracked the animals up the treacherous mountainside.

In the ring: The awe-inspiring animals clash high above the clouds after their encounter began halfway up Montasio in the Italian Alps

One wrong move could have led to the reckless Capra ibex goats plunging thousands of feet to their deaths.
Mr Sabo said: 'I have taken pictures of mountain goats since 2004 - but this was the first time I had ever seen something like this.
'They were living life on the edge. But they were young goats, maybe around three years old, practising their fighting skills. The real fighting begins in December when they will battle over females.

Vantage point: The majestic Capra ibex gazes out from the perilous peak

Stand-off: The two reckless kids attempted to intimidate each other on the steep slopes as amateur photographer Marius Sabo followed them

Mr Sabo, 38, followed the threesome for more than an hour, gasping for breath in the thinning oxygen as he took pictures on his Canon 40D.
The graphic designer, who was born in Romania and now lives in Austria, began taking photos as a hobby in 2003.
He added: 'I was amazed and thanked God for this chance to picture something so powerful in such a beautiful setting.

source : dailymail

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No kidding: Woman and her goat who both have prosthetic legs - made by the same doctor!

By LUCY LAING

Best foot forward: Jenny Brown with her pet goat Albie show off their prosthetic legs at her animal sanctuary in New York state

When Albie the three-legged goat needed a prosthetic leg, owner Jenny Brown knew exactly who to turn to.
Having lost her own limb at the age of ten to cancer she contacted the doctor who had made her prosthetic leg and begged him to help.
Now Albie is skipping around the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary in New York state where he lives with Mrs Brown and her husband Doug Abel, 43

Albie arrived at the sanctuary in August 2007 when he was found wandering in a park after escaping from a local slaughterhouse.
But injuries inflicted when he was trussed up with wire in the abattoir infected his leg and vets had to amputate.

Albie: The goat escaped from an abattoir

Mrs Brown said: ‘ When he was brought to us, Albie was in a terrible state. His mouth was covered in sores and his leg and hoof were badly infected.
‘He was weak and scared to death. We just couldn’t believe that this brave little goat had managed to escape like this.’
After the operation, Albie tried to hop around the field on three legs, but kept having to rest as it was too much of a strain.
Mrs Brown said: 'Albie hobbled, but goats don’t have the same balance that dogs have, as they are walking around on the tip of a high heeled hoof.
'He got so tired easily and would have to lie down every few minutes.'
She then asked her surgeon to build a prosthetic leg even though he had never made one for a farm animal before.

Pet: Jenny lost her limb to cancer when she was 10, while Albie had to have his amputated after it got infected

‘The doctor just looked at me in surprise but rose to the challenge and said he was willing to give it a try,' said Mrs Brown.
'We did some research. There had been only one goat ever before in the U.S. that had got a prosthetic limb.
'I knew exactly how frustrated he [Albie] felt with a leg missing - as I had gone through it all myself. I was determined to help him.'

'We take it off at night for him to sleep - just like I do - and then in the day he has it on all the time. He’s skipping around on his prosthetic leg and he couldn’t be happier.’
Mrs Brown opened her animal sanctuary in October 2004, and now has over 150 rescued farm animals, including piglets, former battery hens, goats, cows and turkeys living there.

source: dailymail

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Billy goat brush: The petting zoo resident who entertains children with his PAINTING

By OLIVER PICKUP

Vincent van Goat: Trent shows off his skills at the zoo in Houston, wowing onlookers with his talent

Forget Vincent van Gogh - because here is Vincent van goat!

Meet Trent, who loves nothing more than picking up a paintbrush and creating incredible abstract art at McGovern Children's Zoo, part of Houston Zoo.

The arty animal picks up the brush in his mouth before creating a g-ruff draft and then tidies up the painting leaving onlookers stunned.


G-ruff talent: The goat uses his teeth to steady the brush and produces his abstract art with an audience watching


Staff at the zoo are hoping his extraordinary talent proves more than just a brush with success and the paintings make Trent famous.

Keeper Amber Zelmer said: 'He caught onto the idea really quickly, so helping him make the paintings a bit better wasn't hard at all - it took less than a month.'

Bizarrely, Trent is not the only goat who has picked up the amazing talent - zoo visitors can also catch his friends exhibiting their own work too.


No kidding: Another goat has a go at creating a masterpiece


The first goat who learned to paint was two-year-old Domino, closely followed Peep who also wanted to express her skills.

Miss Zelmer added: 'The first task was teaching them to touch the canvas with the paint brush once they had it held in their mouth.

'Then we just added paint - and then we had goat art.'

So far the finished canvases have been popular at Houston Zoo fund-raising events and are set to feature at further events raising money for the zoo.

The instance recalls the famous painting elephants, who caused a flutter of excitement when their brilliant portraits were shown three years ago.



source: dailymail

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U.S. hiker gored to death by mountain goat in Olympic National Park

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE

A US hiker has been killed by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park


An American hiker has died after being gored by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park, Washington, officials have said.

Robert Boardman, 63, was injured on Saturday as he hiked near the Park's Klahhane Ridge. He died hours later at a Port Angeles hospital.

According to witnesses, Mr Boardman, his wife and friend had stopped for lunch on Klahhane Ridge when the goat, known for its aggressive behaviour, appeared and moved towards them.

Mr Boardman tried to shoo the animal away but instead it attacked him. After goring him in the leg, the goat stood over him, and had to be pelted with rocks by a ranger before eventually moving away.

Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, told the Peninsula Daily News that in the past ranger had tried 'hazing' the ram - making it be frightened of people - by shooting it with bean bags and throwing rocks.

But she added that there had been no reports of any incidents which would have warranted killing the animal.

Rangers later tracked down and killed the goat.

Some 300 mountain goats live in Olympic National Park. Found only in North America, they usually stand about 3ft at the shoulder and can weigh up to 300lbs.


source: dailymail

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Silly billies: Two young goats get stuck on six-inch ledge of railway bridge for two days

By Daily Mail Reporter

Making goats of themselves: Cory Freeman of the Rimrock Humane Society looks over at two stranded goats as they perch on a rail bridge in Montana


Here is the perfect example of how a moonlight stroll can go horribly wrong.

Two young goats that wandered onto the thin ledge of a 60ft railway bridge had to be rescued by a crane after two days high above a remote highway.

The poor animals' plight was only discovered when a passing motorist contacted a local charity and alerted them to the situation.

Rimrock Humane Society called the police, who then enlisted the help of a local coal mine to bring in a crane and pluck the animals to safety near Roundup, southern Montana.

The young female animals, weighing about 30lb each, mostly stayed on the angled ledge - even though there was a wider surface area on a pillar just a few feet away.

Rimrock Humane Society president Sandy Church said: 'The whole time, we thought they were going to fall off. These guys are just babies.'

Ms Church said it wasn't clear how the nimble-footed animals got into the predicament, but she speculated they wandered onto the ledge at night and then froze after the sun rose and they discovered where they were.

She said that the goats sometimes stepped to the pillar but returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds at a time.


Long way down: The two goats remained on the thin ledge for two days - until authorities could pluck them to safety after enlisting the help of a nearby mine, which brought a crane to the rescue


Authorities were called on Tuesday, when the goats were first spotted. But confusion about the location delayed the rescue until another caller alerted the humane society yesterday.

The sheriff's office, Ms Church and Cory Freeman, a humane society volunteer who runs the Animal Edventures Sanctuary, enlisted the help of officials at Signal Peak Energy, which operates a nearby coal mine.

Mine boss John DeMichiei volunteered a mining crane with an arm high enough to reach the stranded goats that eventually moved to the pillar.

Both animals were thirsty and tired but have recovered well after their ordeal - and are undoubtedly giving late-night walks a miss for the time being.


source: dailymail

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