UKC

Yesterday me and a mate climbed North Face Route then Agag’s on The Buchaille. A good day. We finished by taking in the summit and then, instead of going down Corrie na Tulaich we descended its West Ridge. About two thirds of the way down my mate Lex turned to me and said.
“There’s a boulder down below that looks remarkably like a sheep with its head turned towards us.”
Looking down the slope a few hundred meters I had to agree. Next thing the ‘boulder’ turned its head away and moved off across the boulder strewn slope. It turned out to be a very shaggy looking feral goat complete with a fine set of horns – a Billy we thought, as it was alone? It initially moved away quite quickly but later seemed less disturbed by as we descended past him, some fifty metres away.

In all the forty odd years that I’ve been visiting the Buchaille I’ve never before seen a wild goat. I was wondering how it came to be up there. Looking over to the Blackwater Dam, I remembered that we do sometimes see feral goats on the north side of Loch Leven [en route to the Ice Factor even] and so it seems likely that they may be spreading further afield – up through the pass of The Devils Staircase maybe?
We were both very pleasantly surprised by his presence and hoping that this is at least one sign that nature is still managing to make some gains despite our human endeavours to the contrary. We’re hoping that we’ll see more wild goats in the hills in years to come.
I recalled that I've ben told that unlike sheep, their coats aren’t waterproof and so they need shelter to survive. I can’t think where they would find this around The Buchaille unless under the overhanging crag of Creag y Banchair or similar?

As we made it the more level ground approaching Lagangarbh, picking a few bilberries on the way, Lex came out with a counter statement. One of his neighbours from Aviemore way, has pointed out recently that there seems to have been a distinct lack of, would you believe - flies etc. around this summer, the purported evidence for this being that he has hasn’t had to wash the hundreds of dead ones off the front of his car not even once so far this year.
We hypothesised on possible reasons for this- anything from climate change to pesticides but came to no clear conclusion.

Goats, flies [or the lack of them] and following in the footsteps of a mythical giant. We did have a good day.

Not sure what the response from UKC will be but I'm expecting something from The Goatstroker.

In reply to John Workman:

The mountains are not complete without Goats and Ravens.

In reply to John Workman:

No shortage of flies on the west this year though. I tend to see more goats paddling around Arisaig, Knoydart etc than I do on the hill, so maybe there is something to the shelter theory.

In reply to John Workman Perhaps the goat has gone on an expedition from Sheil Bridge flock of ferral goats which graze up Glen Sheil. A long trek though.

In reply to John Workman:

Good to hear - I always like to see goats on the hill. Came across some on Stuc a' Chroin recently - I'd used the curious sideways-then-steep path that sneaks round the left-hand side of the buttress when coming from the Vorlich side. I've seen goats across to the left of there previously, out on ledges on the face, but this time there were half a dozen of them happily nibbling away on the ridge itself, between the middle bump and the buttress cairn. Fine shaggy things, nice to see.

Incidentally, I too don't think there have been so many flies this summer - although such observations are probably heavily anecdotal in terms of where you have/haven't been, eg I've not been to Galloway this summer and that's traditionally Fly Central.

In reply to joan cooper:

Thanks for the reply but here is a bit of pedanticism [no such word I think].
We may have a flock of sheep or even seagulls but we have herds of goats? As in the translation into English language of the very same Am Buchaille Etive Mor.

In reply to John Workman:


Some would say it's a tribe of goats.

In reply to John Workman:

As a kid, I used to often see wild goats up around the Blackwater dam and Loch Eilde and they would occasionally venture into the village. I remember Alcan carried out a big cull of deer and the goats in the 1990- 2000s. It is nice to see that they are recovering. With the sheep no longer on the hills, there needs to be something to keep the bracken and heather under control. More goats I say!

In reply to John Workman:

when i worked in Glen coe xaw Goats oftn below buchaille in Glen Etive
and occasionlly in the glrn

In reply to Mr Trebus:


Surely no pun intended!

In reply to John Workman:

I've seen goats in Glen Etive on various visits about 10-20 years ago so no surprise seeing them on the buachaille.

A large bunch of goats live at Sheil Bridge in the winter months. I don't know if they are waterproof.

In reply to John Workman:

I walked the Aonach Eagach ridge in July 2009 and the summit plateau at the end of the ridge was full of goats. I assumed at the time they were wild.

I think the horses on the carneddau are one of the most unusual wild phenomenons.

Andy.

In reply to John Workman:

knew i had a photo somewhere!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=229049855299&l=7bf1847228

Andy

In reply to Andrew Wilson:

Aye. You weren't kidding - right enough.

In reply to John Workman:

No feral goats or any deer spotted on the Aonach Eagach today. On the plus side, apart from a party of three I met on the way up Am Bodach, didn't see another soul until I got back down to Loch Achtriochtan. Just the way I like it right enough