When the ski season winds down, the wildlife-watching season cranks up. And many Utahns hoof it to Wasatch Front canyons to watch Rocky Mountain goats perch precariously on cliffs. Indeed, few sights are more mesmerizing that a grazing herd of the goats negotiating steep and rocky terrain.

In the parking lot at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon recently, Robert Walters of the Utah Division of Wildlife Services hosted a watchable-wildlife event. State wildlife officials say public interest in wildlife-related activities - photography and watching animals - have soared.

Watchable-wildlife programs like the ones organized by federal and state officials provide Utahns and others with a great opportunity to appreciate one of the nation's greatest heritages - its wildlife. Binoculars and spotting scopes, which Walters supplied at the event in Little Cottonwood Canyon, help watchers of wildlife zoom in on Rocky Mountain goats that would otherwise be tiny white specks.

Aided by Walters, 5-year-old Jeremiah Nieberger of Kearns peered through a scope to spot his first goat of the morning.

I came "to see the mountain goats," he said. "They can jump from rock to rock."

Roger Nieberger, Jeremiah's grandfather, brings his grandchildren to the goat-watching event every year.

I "want to make sure that all the grandkids learn about the mountain goats," he said.

Leon Hadley of Grantsville, a seasoned wildlife spectator, came equipped with his camera and 600-millimeter lens.

"I just enjoy looking at nature's wonderful and beautiful creatures," Hadley said. "Plus, there are others . . . who can't or don't have the time or money to look at the wildlife, so they can enjoy it by looking at [my] pictures."

Walters said the goat herd's close proximity to Salt Lake Valley residents is a real plus. With the goats in their backyard, so to speak, residents don't need to drive to Provo Canyon or southern Utah to watch Rocky Mountain goats.

"It's a safer place to watch them - in the parking lot versus having to view the herd in Provo Canyon, off the highway," Walters said.

Baby Rocky Mountain goats are born in May and June, usually at higher elevations and out of sight of most spectators.

"Usually [birthing] takes place on steep, rocky slopes or cliffs," Walters said. The babies are "able to follow their moms through the cliffs . . . and are sure-footed and quick."

Walters said mountain lions, bears and coyotes prey upon adult goats, but the predator most feared by the mountain goat's young is the eagle. He said the birds often swoop down and nab a small kid.

This particular herd, Walters added, was relocated from Washington and reintroduced to the Little and Big Cottonwood canyons in 1967. He said watching Rocky Mountain goats beats talking on a cell phone or spending hours at a computer.

"That's what it's all about - to get outside and do something," Walters said. "You see things that you wouldn't otherwise see."

Learn more

For more information about watchable wildlife, consult the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources' Web site at www.wildlife.utah.gov.