Washington’s 12 introduced mountain goats multiplied into more than 1,000; decades later, 325 were airlifted out beneath helicopters

Twelve mountain goats released into Washington’s Olympic Mountains in the 1920s eventually multiplied into a population of more than 1,000, spreading across a landscape where the species had never been native. Decades later, the same animals became the focus of one of the most unusual wildlife operations in the region: goats were captured from steep mountain slopes, suspended beneath helicopters and flown to staging areas before being transported to the Cascade Mountains, where mountain goats are native. Between 2018 and 2020, 325 were successfully moved in this way.

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