Mountain goats in the Franklins?

Deep within Transmountain Road drivers have been spotting something white among the shrubs.

We know there are deer, cougars, coyotes and new critters that make their home there every day. Some have said it could be the majestic horned sheep..
or maybe even the prestigious mountain goat.

“If you want to see mountain goats you want to go to Colorado or the Rocky Mountains or the Sierras,” said Lois Balin.

Balin is a wildlife and urban specialist for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

She says the chance of a mountain goat living in the Franklin Mountains would be a million to one but video sent to ABC-7 by Rick Monreal shows a mountain goat-looking animal along the cliffs of the Franklins.

Park officials say more than likely it’s a domestic goat.

“They must be escapees from somebody’s home a lot of people have goats,” said Balin.

They say the goats on the mountain, four that they’ve seen so far, can be a problem for the environment.

We’ve all heard goats will eat anything, burritos, pants, even hair.

“When they graze, they graze at the ground level, much lower than cows so they do a lot of damage that way,” said Balin.

Balin tells ABC-7 there is a chance the goats could survive
but remember the animals we mentioned before?

“We also have predators out here. Lot’s of coyotes and we have mountain lions so they’ll probably be an easy meal for one of those animals,” said Balin.

The wildlife specialist has a message for those with domesticated animals in the area.
“I hope that the goats find another home in somebody’s house and I just encourage people not to let their domesticated animals run wild,” said Balin.