Nannies Versus Billies

It was back in the early ‘90s that I got my first exposure to mountain goats in British Columbia. I was hunting with Darwin Watson’s outfit, Christina Falls Outfitters, and my guide, Hank, was well acquainted with hunting mountain goats. I, on the other hand, was as green as grass and there were few resources at the time to aid in trophy evaluation or even determining sex. I was relying 100 per cent on Hank. Hank was a quiet, stoic man and I was young and eager and wanted to know everything he did about goats. I peppered him with a barrage of questions as we made the three-hour ride toward goat country. He graciously answered each one.

Once we went as far as the horses could go, Hank, clad in rubber boots, grabbed a grain sack, an old, beat-up spotting scope and his lunch out of his saddle bags and motioned for me to follow, which I eagerly did. We climbed up through a nasty boulder field. My ankles were twisting in my stiff hiking boots and I fell ever further behind Hank, who seemed to effortlessly glide across the jagged rocks. We continued climbing for about an hour as we slowly circled around to the west side of the mountain. A long, lush green valley opened up before our eyes and Hank found a suitable place to sit down and glass. I sat beside him and he shot me a look, as if to say, “Enough with the questions.”

I remained silent and pulled my binoculars to my eyes. As I scanned down the valley, I immediately picked up several white dots on a grassy slope about a mile away. Excitedly, I pointed them out to Hank. “Nannies,” was all he said.

I had no idea how he could tell, but I knew I’d exceeded my limit of questions for the day so I went back to glassing. Then, Hank calmly said, “Billy… big one.”

I frantically searched for him in the direction Hank was looking and finally Hank grabbed my shoulder and pointed to a grass ledge about 500 yards away. I’d been looking much further down the valley. The goat looked magnificent through the binoculars, his white coat contrasting sharply with the lush green backdrop. I finally broke my vow of silence and questioned Hank as to whether it was a good billy. He nodded his head, and I resisted the temptation to ask him how he knew. The goat was oblivious to our presence and Hank indicated that we needed to try to get closer.

We made it about 100 yards before the goat began to get nervous. This was long before the days of rangefinders and Hank warned me that this was as close as we could get, and I needed to anchor the goat in his bed. If he rolled even a foot, he would cascade several thousand feet down the slope behind him, making recovery questionable. I was shooting an old Winchester Model 64 chambered in 264 Winchester Magnum, so I took a little Kentucky windage and squeezed the trigger. The goat slumped in his bed and never moved. I looked back to Hank. He had a huge smile on his face. It was the most animated I’d seen him. I waited for him to congratulate me on my fine shooting, but he just got up and started walking toward the goat.

The goat was indeed a fine specimen at over nine inches in length and six age rings on his horns. I was elated as I ran my hand over his curved horns. I still had no idea how to judge, nor sex these magnificent creatures, but I knew I wanted to know more.

I’ve been on numerous goat hunts in British Columbia since and have taken the time to really educate myself on both trophy quality evaluation and, more importantly, determining sex. According to Bill Jex, provincial wild sheep and mountain goat specialist, Fish & Wildlife branch, British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land & Resource Stewardship, “Many jurisdictions in North America are putting more focus on nanny harvest.  Recently, across the range of mountain goats, there has been movement toward implementing policy and regulation focused on reducing nanny harvest in native populations of mountain goats, as they are known to be particularly sensitive to female harvest. Because of this, most jurisdictions have structured harvest opportunities through applicant draws (to limit overall harvest in sensitive zones/populations) and general open seasons that include single animal bag limits and that further support conservation, with specific regulation delivery and enhanced hunter education.

“One review showed that the implementation of draw hunt zones, prohibitive regulations that, at minimum, protect some female mountain goats and improve the education of hunters’ abilities in distinguishing sex and age are key tools for mountain goat harvest management.  Some populations are suffering significant declines from combined effects of anthropogenic disturbance, environmental stochasticity resulting in mortality events and higher than acceptable levels of female harvest. This has sparked conversation among stakeholder groups about implementing mandatory sex identification training for all mountain goat hunters in BC, similar to the Idaho regulation, as this would benefit species conservation and may reduce the need for implementing new regulatory prohibitions specific to populations or hunt zones.”

So, what is the best way to determine a billy from a nanny? It seems many hunters rely solely on horn or body shape, but the truth is, you need to take a multi-factor approach. According to the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance, there are three factors to consider before committing to pulling the trigger: horns, body and social behaviour.

Horns

The horns on a mature billy gently curve rearward, compared to a nanny, whose horns curve more sharply and often there is a kink near the end where the tip bends sharply downward. Mature billies also have very heavy bases and that weight carries all the way up the horn. The base on a billy will appear wider than the width of the eye. Nannies have much more slender horns and the base will be narrower than the width of their eye. Also look at the space between the horns. On a mature billy, there will be little space between the horns, while on a nanny there will be a considerable gap. A final sign of a mature billy are large, black glands at the rear of the horns. These glands are found on both sexes but are much more prominent on a mature billy.

When comparing a mature billy to a mature nanny, it’s fairly easy to tell the difference, but a younger billy and nanny can be easily confused.

While trophy evaluation of the horns is important to some, it’s a valuable skill to learn regardless of your interest in entering an animal in the record books. It will also help you identify a mature billy and help prevent the accidental harvest of a nanny. A goat’s ears are approximately four inches long, so you want to look for horns that are at least twice that length. Nine inches is the rough benchmark when looking for a mature billy. The distance from the top of the nostril to the front corner of the eye is approximately eight to nine inches, so this can be used as a guideline as well. If you are really close, you can occasionally count the growth rings or annuli on the horns, but this is extremely difficult to do. But if you can, look for a minimum of five to six rings.

Body

A mature billy will weigh in at about 300 pounds, twice the weight of the average nanny. He will have a large hump above his shoulders, much like that found on a grizzly. When a nanny is climbing, her shoulder will push up and look much like a hump too, so it’s important to look for the hump when they are standing relaxed. During the early part of the season, the more massive body size of the billy is easy to see, but a well-haired nanny, later in the season, can look massive as well.

The heads of the different sexes are quite telling as well. A billy has a very long head, and its muzzle is somewhat blunt and horse like, while a nanny has a sorter, more slender head with a less pronounced muzzle.

Billies will also have a dirty-appearing spot on their hips, which nannies rarely have. It’s often referred to as having dirty-looking pants on the billy. It’s caused by the billy’s propensity for urinating in his bed and then lying in it. The stains are quite pronounced earlier in the year, before the ground freezes. If you do happen to see a mountain goat urinating, it’s a dead giveaway what sex it is. Billies will stretch out much like a male horse, with their back legs out behind them, while a nanny will bunch up with its rear legs beneath her and squat similar to a female dog.

Social Behaviour

Goats live in matriarchal society where the nannies spend time with kids and both young nannies and billies. This is how young goats learn where the best places to feed throughout the year are and other valuable life skills. Nannies may not breed until they are four or five years old, so it’s not uncommon to see several adult-looking goats without kids. If you see a group of more than four goats together, especially if they are of mixed sizes, it’s almost guaranteed that they are nannies, with possibly a few very young billies.

Billies can be found in small bachelor groups, but typically all the goats will be relatively the same body size. If you see a lone goat, then there is a good chance it’s a billy. The one exception to this is in November when the goats are rutting and then you will see both nannies and billies mixed.

Billies and nannies will typically occupy different terrain types, other than during the rut, as well. Nannies and family groups will usually be on gentler terrain where there is high-quality feed. Lactating nannies and growing young require this more nutritious feed. If you see a goat in an area so steep and devoid of grass that you wonder what it’s doing there, in all likelihood it’s a billy.

While sexing goats will never be 100 per cent and nearly every experienced goat guide or hunter has a story of a screw up, these tips will help you put the odds in your favour. If there is any doubt, it’s likely a nanny or a young billy and it’s best to keep looking. Goat populations are sensitive to hunting harvest and to ensure more areas aren’t placed on limited entry or quotas reduced, it’s critical that hunters do their best to educate themselves and only harvest billies.

Here is a link to a great video produced by the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance on sexing goats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgC-iIuZieI.