Who’d have thought it possible? A mountain goat apparently impaled a young grizzly bear to death with its horns in Canada’s Yoho National Park.
“Grizzly bear predation of mountain goats is relatively common, and I guess the mountain goat was successful in this instance and turned the tables on the grizzly,” David Laskin, Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit wildlife ecologist, told Rocky Mountain Outlook. “These mountain goats are big animals and those horns are very sharp.”
A hiker found the 150-pound bear carcass in early September hike. An initial examination could not determine the cause of death but a more thorough follow-up did.
“The forensic necropsy subsequently confirmed that the wounds incurred before death were consistent with the size and shape of mountain goat horns, so other causes, including human involvement, were ruled out,” said Laskin.
Yoho National Park is located about 10 miles west of Banff National Park in southeastern British Columbia. It is known for its steep rock walls, waterfalls and rich wildlife populations on the western slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
(Photo source: Parks Canada)