"Cabra Montesa (Spanish mountain goat)" Sierra Blanca Travelogue by Beach_dog

I was very pleased on my December 23rd hike in the hills to have spotted a group of three mountain goats. I'd been joking with EmilieNoelle in the forums the previous week that on my next visit to the mountains I would catch one and send it to her as a gift. I never expected to see one, they are quite rare and very very shy to human presence. I think after my discussion with Emilie the great God Goat was looking down on me.

Cabra Montesa (Cabra Hispánica) exists over many mountainous regions in Spain, but in the 'Montes de Malaga' here in the south it is classified as a slightly different species from the rest and can only be found here in the southern part of Andalucia.

I had only once before seen them wild, but at a Bird of Prey Sanctuary on the mountain above Benalmadena. The head of the sanctuary used to put food out for them and if you were lucky you might spot them from a distance.

On our hike through the mountains who was out in front spotted the goats first, he waited quietly until we caught up and quietly pointed them out to us. The goats aware of our presence started walking away up the hill, although they were well over a quarter of a mile from us, they are very shy of humans.

A grabbed my camera and attatched a large 450 mm lens, I managed to take about 12 photographs before they disappeared from sight. The groups seemed to consist of two males and a female, there may have been a fourth goat, but they were difficult to see at such a large distance and are well camoflaged in the mountain scenery.

I did not have enough time to set up my tripod and with a large lens and low light conditions it was very difficult to take a steady shot, thus accounting for the slight bluriness of my photos. Next time I will go up early in the morning, alone and set up my camera on a tripod and wait.