Airlifting wild animals is a time-honored tradition in the state of Idaho, where beavers were parachuting around in wooden boxes long before I was born. Nowadays, it’s mountain goats, which are possibly even worse suited for air travel.
Since six individual goats were released in the 1960s, the number of mountain goats in the state of Idaho has swelled to over 2,000. When a group gets too large, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources steps in to capture and relocate some of the herd. It’s a slightly traumatizing experience that involves net guns, tranquilizers, and blindfolds. But at the end of the day, these goats are doing their country a great service, and their descendants will be better off for it. Plus, what a story to tell your kids.
[YouTube]
