Over the years, I’ve heard some fascinating claims about animals that supposedly live in places they don’t belong. Mountain goats in North Carolina. “Vietnamese mountain hogs” roaming the southern woods. Exotic species hiding in plain sight, just out of reach of official recognition.
At first glance, stories like these don’t sound completely unreasonable. The animals people describe often look unfamiliar—thick-bodied, oddly shaped, or sporting features most folks don’t expect to see locally. The locations aren’t impossibly remote. And once a story starts making the rounds, especially when it’s repeated with confidence, it begins to feel less like rumor and more like fact.
That’s how these legends gain traction. Someone sees something unusual. A name gets attached to it. Then the explanation spreads faster than the evidence.
One experience in particular stayed with me. Years ago, I personally came across an animal that people around me were calling an “Asian mountain buffalo.” The story surrounding it was detailed and persuasive. Multiple people insisted it was something exotic—an animal that had escaped captivity or been quietly released years earlier. And I’ll admit, at first glance, it really did look out of place. Big. Heavy. Different from what most people expect to see in that region.
But the more I listened, the more I realized something important was missing from the conversation: basic questions.
No one was asking where the animal came from. No one was comparing it to known species. No one was slowing down long enough to separate what they were seeing from what they were assuming. The mystery wasn’t being examined—it was being protected.
That moment stuck with me because it revealed how easily ordinary animals can be transformed into something extraordinary once curiosity gives way to certainty. When people stop questioning, familiar species become cryptids. Farm animals turn into foreign beasts. And the truth gets buried under a more exciting story.
In this video, I take a closer look at several cases just like that—situations where animals were believed to be something they weren’t. Not because people were foolish, but because human nature tends to favor a good story over a careful explanation. We want the world to be more mysterious than it is, and sometimes all it takes is an unfamiliar shape or an unusual setting to spark a legend.
The goal isn’t to mock these stories, but to understand them—and to remember that the simplest explanation is often the most accurate, even when it isn’t the most exciting.
Chester Moore
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“He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to climb on mountain heights.”
Those words echoed through my head as I watched my daughter Faith take photos of a beautiful Rocky Mountain goat at 14,000 feet in Colorado.
We live at 14 feet elevation on the Texas Coast, so being 1,000 times higher is like stepping into another world, a place of stunning beauty and unlimited possibility.
Look up about 40 feet and there’s a mountain goat looking at Faith.
Sixteen years ago, we got word about an opportunity to adopt a little girl who at age two couldn’t walk or talk and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. I felt this was the child we had prayed for but I needed confirmation.
So, I did what all great spiritual people do (not)-I played Bible roulette.
I walked over to my Bible and picked it up.
“Lord, you know me. I am hard headed and sometimes cannot see things the way you want me to see them. I am on faith going to open up this Bible and believe the page I land on is the place that will give me confirmation this is our girl or is not. I do not need a cryptic answer but a direct one Lord.”
With some apprehension, I sort of flipped the Bible open and flung it down on my table.
At first I thought it landed on a blank page but I quickly realized it was on a page with only one verse and it was the very end of the book.
“Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to climb mountain heights.”
I was stunned.
I read those words from Habakkuk 3:19 over and over as tears rolled down my face and I felt the presence of the Lord in an incredibly profound, powerful way. This was not some distant God who sat on a throne and handed out decrees and judgements but one who descended down to my home and gave me a powerful word and ultimate confirmation of what would be a destiny-changing event for our family and a special little girl.
Faith at six years old.
I knew she would walk. I knew she would talk. And I know God had special things to be done through her.
In a stunning way just two weeks after our adoption was completed, Dodie Osteen the Matriarch of Lakewood Church in Houston laid hands on Faith and declared she would walk in the name of Christ.
The next morning she stood up and walked.
And she moved like she had been mobile for months!
Over the years we have faced many challenges, especially emotional ones. There were times it looked like the full promise of “mountain heights” might not happen.
There were times I cried myself to sleep seeing the challenges she was going through at a young age.
There were times me and my wife Lisa were frustrated and exhausted but we had a promise and we stood on it.
We prayed that promise through and stood on God’s word that this precious child would climb on mountain heights physically, mentally and spiritually.
As she turned back to me on Mount Blue Sky I snapped back into the present and could see her beaming with pride.
“Dad, I got a really good picture. Look!”
This was in the cell phone photography category and thankfully this one mountain goat was in a perfect position, in good light and Faith has a great eye for composition and capturing little moments.
Faith’s winning photo. (Photo by Faith Moore)
“Look at this one. It looks like he’s talking to me.”
That photo was entered into a national fine arts competition for Assemblies of God churches around the nation. Both her cell and digital photo (of an elk) earned her an invite to national competition in Columbus, OH.
Faith with her “Award of Merit”.
In front of 15,000 people at Nationwide Arena, Faith learned that her mountain goat photo not only received a “superior” rating but earned her the top photo and the prestigious “Award of Merit”.
Out of a possible three judge rating of 120, she earned 119 points, which is super rare in these competitions.
Faith is not the most emotional young lady but she broke down and cried when she heard the announcement and received the support of her fellow Community Church (C-Student) youth group members. It was a huge moment for her and for our family.
A child that wasn’t supposed to walk or talk, was in front of thousands of people taking home a serious award for a photo she took at 14,000 feet in Colorado.
That certainly qualifies as “mountain heights” to the literal zenith of its meaning.
And it was an important moment for us as a family for another reason. She won for wildlife photography and as a family of dedicated wildlife conservationists, this was special.
If you believe God gives you a word-stand on it. Pray on it. Fast on it. Never give up.
This is especially true when it comes to promises for our children. Even children in the most loving, well-balanced homes face an onslaught of darkness in our culture.
We believe standing on God’s word and the promises purchased through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Faith Moore made me very proud with her awesome photo and winning at such a high level.
But more importantly, she’s made me proud because of who she is and doing her part to work hard and trust in God to overcome the obstacles she has faced.
We look forward to seeing what great things come through her in the future and remain in awe of what the Lord brought into our lives 16-years ago.
It wasn’t just a daughter but it was hope and a promise.
A beautiful promise.
Chester Moore (Better known these days as Faith’s Dad!)
On Sept. 4, visitors to a popular Canadian hiking trail found the body of a young (154 pound) grizzly bear.
According to an article at livescience.com, park rangers airlifted the carcass so it did not attract predators to the popular trail and to ascertain the cause of death.
Wounds around the neck and armpit at first confused officials.
A necropsy, however, revealed the culprit.
“The forensic necropsy subsequently confirmed that the wounds incurred before death were consistent with the size and shape of mountain goat horns,” David Laskin, a wildlife ecologist at Parks Canada, told local news outlet Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Mountain goats are large animals capable of defending themselves against even bear attacks. (Photo by Chester Moore)
So, a mountain goat killed a grizzly.
When attending my first-ever journalism class in high school, I remember hearing, “Dog bites man is not a story. Man bites dog is the story you’re looking for.”
Well, mountain goat kills grizzly is that kind of story.
Yes, it was not a full-grown grizzly, and a 154-pound female was probably a year-old cub.
But even at that size, they are formidable predators.
While the size of the goat implicated in this interesting predator-prey scenario has not been determined, a mature billy can weigh as much as 300 pounds.
These are big, strong, incredibly agile animals that can flee or fight.
“Regarding the recent article about the mountain goat potentially injuring and killing a grizzly…that’s something you don’t hear about every day,'” said Lee MacDonalds, Operations Coordinator with the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance (RMGA).
“I think the takeaway from that article and information from the biologists is that mountain goats (like any large animal, not just predators) have the potential to injure and even kill human-size animals.”
RMGA’s mission is to conserve mountain goat populations and educate the public about these beautiful and unique animals.
“Every year, there are reports of large ungulates in parks injuring humans when they push too close and prompt a defense response. Mountain goats are no different and should be respected,’ MacDonalds said.
“Here in Montana, we have partnered with Montana, Fish Wildlife & Parks, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to have laminated signs at trailheads in mountain goat areas, helping to warn people not to approach them should they run into one. “
Along with wild sheep, mountain goats represent the best of the American West’s wildlife.
Able to live at the highest elevations and easily move across rocky terrain that few can navigate, they are creatures worthy of our admiration.
And any ungulate that can kill a grizzly in defense is worthy of our respect.
It’s great that a group like RMGA exists to forward the cause of mountain goat conservation.
And this story getting out is a good thing as well.
Maybe it will remind hikers, campers, and others who too often view wild animals on public land as wayward pets to give mountain goats a wide berth.
They might not take too kindly to any attempt to take a selfie with them.
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The blessing of have numerous media platforms is the ability to get conservation messages on mountain wildlife out to a diverse group of people.
When a Texas Fish & Game columnist was not able to turn in a column due to an emergency, I used the space to the readership informed on mountain goat conservation and the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance.
Mountain goats are truly fascinating creatures who deserve more attention from hunters and those who simply enjoy seeing wildlife.
We will be doing more on mountain goats and other mountain wildlife through a series of expeditions as well as continual communication with the top people at the private, state, tribal and federal level of wildlife management.
Read this article in the Nov. 2019 edition of Texas Fish & Game and don’t forget to check out the podcast with Pete Muennich, founder of the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance we posted here a couple of weeks ago.
You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.
Check out my hour-long interview with Pete Muennich, founder of the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance, on “Moore Outdoors” on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI.
We discuss the following:
*Mountain Goat Ecology
*The Challenge of Hunting Mountain Goats
*Conservation Of The Species
*Formation of Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance and membership/volunteer opportunities.
You can subscribe to this blog by entering your email address at the subscribe prompt at the top right of this page. You can contact Chester Moore by emailing chester@chestermoore.com. Subscribe to the podcast by visiting thehighercalling.podbean.com.
