A Rocky Mountain goat fought and killed a grizzly bear by stabbing its neck with its razor sharp horns, researchers say
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- A mountain goat impaled a 154-pound grizzly bear in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, researchers said.
- The female bear was found dead by rangers earlier this month, with wounds to its neck and armpits.
- A necropsy revealed the wounds stemmed from the horns of a goat that fought back during an attack.
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A mountain goat achieved a remarkable feat after it impaled a 154-pound grizzly bear that presumably tried to attack it in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, researchers said.
The carcass of a female grizzly bear was found by hikers earlier this month on a popular trail in eastern British Columbia's Yoho National Park.
The bear, which weighed around 154 pounds (70 kg), had wounds in its neck and armpits.
At first, researchers were unsure what could have caused the death, but an autopsy revealed that the bear had been impaled by the razor-sharp horns of a Rocky Mountain goat.
"[It] was the result of an unsuccessful predation attempt on a mountain goat. And it ultimately turned the tables on this bear," David Laskin, a wildlife ecologist with Parks Canada, told CBC.
Laskin said that it was consistent with the defensive response of mountain goats.
"When grizzlies attack, they tend to focus on the head in the back of the neck and the shoulders of their prey. And this is usually from above. So in turn, the defensive response of the mountain goat would be to protect itself using its sharp points," he added, according to CBC.
Although it is very rare for a mountain goat to survive a bear attack, it is not unheard of.
Male Rocky Mountain goats can weigh up to 300 pounds (136 kg) and their horns, which they never shed, can be very sharp, according to National Geographic.
"Other cases of mountain goats defensively killing bears have been reported in the past," Laskin said, according to Live Science. "This is not completely surprising, since mountain goats are strong animals that are well equipped to defend themselves."
Park rangers airlifted the bear carcass away from the trail to make sure that it did not attract additional predators.