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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 Every climber knows that mountains are unforgiving.
00:04 You have to move along the rocks very slowly, with a bunch of precautions so that, God forbid,
00:09 you do not fall into the abyss, splashing your brains over the stones.
00:14 Apparently no one told the mountain goats about this.
00:18 That is why they jump on steep cliffs as if on a level ground, as if gravity had no effect
00:24 on them.
00:26 Mountain goats are divided into three groups.
00:29 Ibex, goats and Tours.
00:33 The difference between them is mainly in the structure of the horns.
00:38 Mountain goats are closely related to mountain rams, with which they have many similarities.
00:44 However, mountain rams avoid steep cliffs and live on smooth slopes at an altitude of
00:50 2200 to 3500 meters above sea level.
00:56 Their more distant relatives are snow goats, chamois and gorils.
01:02 In short, they have a lot of relatives.
01:04 But the question arises, how can mountain goats stand on tiny rock ledges several thousand
01:10 meters high and even run on them?
01:14 What is their secret of climbing?
01:17 Did they hack the laws of physics?
01:20 Let's find out.
01:23 All who adore the mountains, subscribe to our channel and enjoy the beauty of nature.
01:40 The phrase "mountain goats" at first does not even fit into our head.
01:45 After all, the goat in our understanding is something so playful with hooves and a goatee
01:50 and in the grandmother's yard.
01:53 But it is no coincidence that the mountain goat is named mountain goat.
01:58 And now you will be convinced of this.
02:01 Do you see these points on the dam wall?
02:04 These are alpine goats, also known as ibex.
02:08 The height of this dam, along which these mountain goats walk, is 50 meters.
02:13 And the degree of its inclination is 90.
02:16 That is, it stands almost vertically.
02:19 However, for local residents, a herd of goats walking along the sheer wall of the dam is
02:25 no longer a new sight.
02:28 The animals themselves can climb to heights of up to 4 kilometers.
02:32 So 49 meters is a long Concord Peak.
02:37 But why exactly a dam?
02:39 It's simple.
02:40 Minerals are released on the wall which serve as a nutrient for the goats.
02:45 They lick off the salt crystals protruding from the dam.
02:49 The stone from which this dam was built contains important minerals.
02:54 And here they are dissolved in the water.
02:57 Ibexes need minerals, salts and calcium to stay strong.
03:01 And therefore they are attracted by the high dam.
03:04 In addition, moss, tasty for herbivores, actively grows on a damp wall, which gives goats even
03:11 more reasons to risk their lives and fight for a good place.
03:16 Ibex is found in the Alps and amazes people with its fearlessness.
03:22 Mountains and steep cliffs are their natural home throughout their life.
03:27 And therefore the goats masterfully pass where the most trained climber would not dare to
03:32 go.
03:34 Females of Ibex resemble domestic goats.
03:36 But males stand out among other representatives of the goat genus with large horns twisted
03:43 in a circle, the length of which can reach a meter.
03:47 Mountain goat Ibex is distinguished not only by the ability to move dexterously along the
03:53 rocks.
03:54 Ibexes are very intelligent and sensible animals.
03:58 In order to survive in the wild, this species is endowed with excellent eyesight, hearing
04:04 and smell.
04:05 In case of danger, the goats hide in the gorges of the rocks.
04:10 The main enemies for goats are bears, wolves and lynxes.
04:16 And this is a close relative of Ibex - the Siberian goat.
04:22 Mountain goats living in the south of Siberia are naturally very brave animals, sometimes
04:28 surprising with their strength, endurance and agility.
04:32 However, they got a hard life full of dangers.
04:36 And only the harsh Siberian hardening allows the mountain goats to survive in these extreme
04:41 conditions.
04:44 Siberian Ibex look similar to their domesticated relatives.
04:48 However, unlike the latter, they are more slender and muscular.
04:53 There is nothing to be surprised at.
04:56 Mountain goats daily expose themselves to colossal physical exertion.
05:01 The main enemies of Siberian mountain goats are snow leopards and Altai wolves.
05:08 Even the most pumped up male will not be able to resist the leopards, which often watch
05:14 for them at the foot of mountains and near water sources.
05:19 In order not to once again meet with these fierce predators, horned artiodactyls have
05:24 to spend most of their time on almost vertical rocks.
05:29 However, even here mountain goats cannot feel completely safe.
05:34 Young kids can be hunted by huge golden eagles, meeting with which can be much more dangerous
05:40 than with leopards or wolves.
05:43 But despite the constant danger, mountain goats manage to survive and maintain their
05:48 population.
05:50 Many representatives of the fauna living in Siberia deserve respect as they have to fight
05:56 for the right to live 24/7.
05:59 And mountain goats are at the top of this list.
06:02 Their life is definitely not easy.
06:16 And this is a snow goat, a distant relative of mountain goats.
06:21 And it is also a lover of licking salt on stones.
06:25 The snow goat is a beautiful and graceful snow white animal, whose only habitat is the
06:31 mountains of North America at an altitude of 4000 meters.
06:36 Snow goats have no one to be afraid of, because no predator is able to climb to the height
06:41 where they live.
06:42 Although no, there is one animal that is dangerous to snow goats.
06:48 This is a cougar.
06:49 The puma climbs the rocks as well as its victims.
06:53 But in case of a direct attack, in most cases they manage to fend off the attacker with
06:58 their horns.
07:00 Well sometimes a bald eagle can carry away a kid, and it looks like this.
07:07 The golden eagle picks up the kid and drags it through the ear to the nest.
07:14 The behavior of this species is strikingly different from the lifestyle of mountain goats.
07:21 Unlike mountain goats, they avoid running and fast jumps over rocks.
07:27 But that doesn't mean that they are bad climbers.
07:30 On the contrary, slowly climbing they manage to climb incredible ledges.
07:35 Moreover they often climb into the alpinist's dead end, a ledge from which it is impossible
07:42 to get off.
07:43 Even their mountain goat cousins are not capable of this.
07:48 But the abilities of the goats are not limited to this.
08:01 Since childhood we have become accustomed to believing that a domestic goat cannot climb
08:06 a tree on its own.
08:08 However the behavior of the goats that live in Morocco proves the opposite.
08:14 In southeastern Morocco, domestic goats climb argan trees to devour its fruits and they
08:20 get to the very top branches.
08:24 If domestic goats are capable of this, then mountain goats even more so.
08:30 Sometimes when you're driving on the savannah, you look at the trees and a whole herd of
08:34 goats is growing on them.
08:37 There are few pastures in this country and hungry animals are forced to graze in the
08:43 trees.
08:44 Of course, this is not a specific species of goat that can climb trees.
08:50 For example, a goat brought from Russia to Morocco would very soon adapt to get food
08:55 in the same way.
08:57 All goats from birth have an excellent ability to maintain balance in the most unstable places.
09:06 So you don't even realize what abilities your domestic goats have.
09:10 [music]
09:24 What is the secret of mountain goats, you may ask?
09:28 How can they run on sheer cliffs so easily?
09:32 In fact, everything is pretty prosaic.
09:35 It's all about the shape of the hooves.
09:38 These animals have special cloven hooves for climbing.
09:41 Their trick is that they are not solid.
09:45 A strong keratin frame only fits the outside of the leg to avoid damage.
09:50 And inside it are soft but rough paths.
09:54 When the animal lowers its leg, its foot takes the shape of the surface on which it stepped.
10:00 So goats and rams seem to stick to the mountains.
10:04 As a bonus, there is a very strong sense of balance and pumped up muscles.
10:09 They allow you to clearly hold the required posture.
10:13 And if the goat realizes that it cannot resist, it instantly pushes off, jumping to another
10:19 ledge.
10:20 And so on until its limbs find a solid point of support.
10:25 Therefore, never try to repeat what these animals do.
10:31 Our feeble sausage fingers are simply not suited for this.
10:36 And our legs, in comparison with the pumped limbs of ungulates, are quite a pitiful sight.
10:43 Even the most modern climbing equipment cannot compensate for our inferiority.
10:49 On a rock that a climber would have conquered in an hour, a mountain sheep will fly up in
10:55 a minute.
10:56 [sound of a rock falling]
11:03 [sound of a rock falling]
11:07 [music]