Goats and Sheep Are Brawling in the Rockies. Blame Glacial Melt

The story was first published on The Guardian.

There is a climber in the corner. America's biggest wild sheep is in the other. Scientists have found that they are locked in a battle over resources in the mountains of the US West.

Two of the US's heftiest native mammals are involved in a struggle that may be influenced by the climate crisis as the mountains' snow and ice rapidly dwindle Conflict between such species may be indicative of climate degradation and the changing nature of coveted resources.

The number of skirmishes between the two ungulate species wasflabbergasted by the author of the research and senior scientist at Colorado State University. The goats were the superior mountain brawler, winning 98% of the time.

They are the best of the mountains. They have horns that are saber-like. The goats have a very high winning percentage.

When there is conflict between the goats and sheep, the goats chase off the sheep in order to get the minerals they need.

The bighorn sheep are similar in size to the mountain goats and have long, curved horns. A mountain goat gored a bear to death in Canada last year, while a hiker was killed by a goat in Olympic National Park.

Global warming has caused hundreds of glaciers in the Rockies to disappear over the last century. Glacier National Park will lose all of its major ice formations within the next few decades, according to scientists.

Communities in the US West rely on the water that comes from the rivers and streams that are melting as a result of global warming. The melt is uncovering deposits of minerals that the goats and sheep need to lick in order to get vital nutrition.

As the ice retreats, these animals are able to go higher into the mountains for the resources. It is not clear if the conflicts are increasing in number as no previous work has been done on the topic.

There is a conflict over access now that they are open. Direct conflict isn't something any of these species want.

According to Berger, global heating is heightening the risk of conflict in other parts of the world, such as rhinoceroses and elephants, as they attempt to access diminishing water supplies. The US and Russia view the melting of theArctic as a military threat, and some humans are reacting to this with adversity in mind.

Climate change is affecting all of our futures, regardless of whether we are dealing with humans or non humans.