A mountain goat is an iconic animal of the Rockies.

Rocky mountain ungulates are all over the place in the wild, on farms, and even in towns.  Here is a definition of ungulate along with many common Rocky Mountain animals that are ungulates.

The Rocky Mountains are some of the most spectacular mountains in the world.  They have amazing views, forests, rivers, and wildlife.  Some of the animals that you are likely to come across include fish (such as rainbow or brown trout), birds, and mammals.  The mammals, especially the big ones, are some of the most iconic animals of the Rockies.  These include bears, and many ungulates, such as elk.

What The Heck Is An Ungulate?

A quick google search, or for those old school people looking in a dictionary, will provide the definition.  An ungulate is defined as, ‘a group of large mammals with hoofs.’  They evolved these hoofs as an adaptation for running.

A hoof is literally an elongated toenail.  it turns out that there are two general types of ungulates, based on the number of toes the they have.  Some are even-toed and others are odd-toed.

There are a lot of ungulates across the world, including elephants, camels, and pigs.  Worldwide there are only about 16 species of odd-toed ungulates versus around 220 species of even-toed ones.

Almost all of them are herbivores, meaning that they eat grass.  They are also all ruminants, meaning they have four stomachs.

Common Rocky Mountain Ungulates

All of these Rocky Mountain animals are even-toed except for the feral horse, which is odd-toed.

A deer is a ruminant.

Deer – There are mule deer and white-tailed deer in the Rockies.

A big moose.

Moose – These big mammals can be found in the Rockies and are super cool to come across, provided you remain safe around them.

Elk – Keep your eyes open for these big animals, especially during the rut.

The bighorn sheep is a cool animal.

Sheep – Bighorn sheep and desert bighorn sheep.

Feral Horse

Mountain Goats – Keep your eyes focused on the cliffs to see mountain goats.

Pronghorn Antelope