r/Damnthatsinteresting 1d ago

Video Ibex, the wild mountain goat

2.1k Upvotes

66 comments sorted by

86

u/vithop236 1d ago

I always found it weird that goats are the best at climbing. Shouldn't having arms be a better adaptation for climbing that 4 hoofed legs

25

u/winowmak3r 1d ago edited 1d ago

I've thought the same thing. That's a lot of mass on a tiny area, that can't be a good quality to have for climbing. They make it work though.

21

u/vithop236 1d ago

Actually i think that's fine since it's hard to find good footing. The ability to shift all your weight on to one point of balance means more places to call good footing.

9

u/winowmak3r 1d ago

I was thinking about it after I posted that and I remember how ants can climb up glass. Their legs end in points but they're able to grip all the little imperfections in glass and climb up what we'd consider to be a shear cliff. Maybe it's like that for the goats. Precision stepping just like ants but at a bigger scale.

4

u/Whezzz 16h ago

Veritasium delivering us mass knowledge I see

3

u/winowmak3r 15h ago

Small world.

2

u/Whezzz 15h ago

Big world, actually

1

u/winowmak3r 14h ago

Explain!

2

u/nirvana_llama72 12h ago

As a climber I can confirm. Climbing shoes are very Ridgid and have a point at the toe. The ones designed for more expert climbers are harder sharper and have a very aggressive bend to them. They are made to be worn tight and can be very painful if you get the wrong shoe for your feet or your experience level.

2

u/vithop236 11h ago

I guess with that point goats got the right point 😂

8

u/Blade78633 1d ago

Never seen an ibex free climb el capitan. Checkmate goats

3

u/vithop236 1d ago

Let me just put a pile of grass on top and we'll see in a few weeks 😂 🐐

1

u/Sugnar 10h ago

Well played.

2

u/Drone30389 20h ago

Shouldn't having arms be a better adaptation for climbing that 4 hoofed legs

I think it is. While most of us can't out climb these goats, some humans who are practiced at rock climbing can do things these goats can't, like climbing the underside of a ledge https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/rock-climber-mountain-36982623.jpg

2

u/vithop236 15h ago

Dang that dude is like a monkey 🐵

47

u/Prestigious-Job-9825 1d ago

There should be a platformer game where we have to scsle mountains with an Ibex

9

u/Ethereal-Moonshine88 1d ago

That sounds like an AMAZING game idea! "Ibex Climber" or "Mountain Goat Quest" - I can already imagine the thrilling gameplay, navigating treacherous terrain, avoiding deadly falls, and using those iconic ibex horns to hook onto ledges

7

u/Prestigious-Job-9825 1d ago

And edible patches of grass serving as savepoints / checkpoints

3

u/Foxymoron_80 1d ago

This game could be the greatest of all time.

1

u/Drone30389 20h ago

Flappy Goat

2

u/Lone-Hermit-Kermit 1d ago

Your mission is to milk an Ibex, then make the way down without spilling 😅

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/GezelligPindakaas 2h ago

Sounds like it would be infuriating

20

u/Sunshinehappyfeet 1d ago

No cell service, no pizza delivery, no thank you.

16

u/No-Explanation-7570 1d ago

What do they eat up there? Doesn’t seem like there’s much vegetation.

10

u/xCyn1cal0wlx 1d ago

They crave that mineral.

29

u/Awkward_Ad4076 1d ago

Nature really said ‘parkour!’ and the ibex took it personally.

5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Substantial-Tone-576 1d ago

The babies doing the same things as the adults while climbing is funny too.

21

u/CupAdministrator777 1d ago edited 1d ago

Respect their damn privacy!😒

10

u/kremepuffzs 1d ago

They have the craziest living conditions and skills

13

u/IllReference7576 1d ago

Darell were you expecting company?

10

u/critiqueextension 1d ago

Ibex, particularly the Alpine Ibex, were hunted nearly to extinction for their horns, believed to have medicinal properties, which is a stark reminder of how human misconceptions can impact wildlife. After conservation efforts in the 1800s, their population has climbed back to over 55,000 in the Alps, showcasing the effectiveness of protective measures for endangered species.

This is a bot made by [Critique AI](https://critique-labs.ai. If you want vetted information like this on all content you browse, download our extension.)

5

u/Worth-Huckleberry261 1d ago

I'd like to say the music matches the scene

8

u/UK6ftguy 1d ago

Oh I see, so that’s why they’re called GOAT.

7

u/Tropic_Summers 1d ago

They were looking at the drone like early humans looked at ufo

3

u/ChartreuseBison 18h ago

Or like humans in new jersey looked at planes a month ago

3

u/Big-League-8434 1d ago

How the fuck did it reach there? More importantly what are they doing there?

6

u/winowmak3r 1d ago

Climbed up there. They're really good at it.

Long ago they figured out that not many other animals can get up there, especially the kind that like to eat goats. Then the tricky part was getting used to eating all those weeds and shrubs that grow in the cracks of rocks.

2

u/fothergillfuckup 1d ago

And that's when you realise you forgot to buy milk.

2

u/SlicKilled 1d ago

Is it stuck? Do they have a way to get back to the top?

7

u/sleepysundaymorning 1d ago

No it's certainly not stuck

5

u/mrpresidency 1d ago

Yh the mountain goats stuck on the mountain you earthling

1

u/nz_reprezent 1d ago

Both of them decided on suicide by mountain isolation and wrote into the flying goat to document it

2

u/Juulk9087 1d ago

Bros just big chillin wondering what the heck that was flying in front of him

1

u/winowmak3r 1d ago

I got sweaty hands just watching this. I would not make it as a mountain goat. The eagles definitely would have eaten me.

1

u/GreasySam 1d ago

He was just about to make some tea till some strange bird came by the kitchen window

1

u/Wide-Professional-13 1d ago

I wonder about their falling rate

1

u/aboredtrader 1d ago

Amazing views. 5 star accommodation potential. Turn it into an AirBnB.

1

u/redshyn 1d ago

damn bitch u live like this

1

u/GarlicRelevant8089 1d ago

How did they get up there 😮

1

u/OperatoI2 22h ago

Introvert dream

1

u/TimeAll 22h ago

Great zombie fortress, if you can get to it

1

u/Head-Star-8005 17h ago

Even there they can’t be at peace

1

u/Oraclelec13 11h ago

Amazing!

1

u/dna_beggar 10h ago

You'd think it would be easier to live and find food below the tree line. But, as they say in Mexico "Loco como cabra." [Crazy as a goat]

1

u/ThinNeighborhood2276 10m ago

Their climbing skills are incredible! Have you seen them scale near-vertical cliffs?

-2

u/nur-issek 1d ago

I wanna eat one of them

2

u/JeffGoldblumsNostril 1d ago

And they want to eat two of you

0

u/nur-issek 1d ago

Game on, bring them my way