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Transcript

Too Hot! Goats to the Rescue · Street Smart Naturalist

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings,
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Williams and the podcast of my newsletter,
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Street Smart Naturalist,
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  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
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  Every week I share my observations and adventures with the
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  human and natural world
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  SPEAKER_00: around Seattle,
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  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode seeks out some cool feelings.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: To learn more about my work, please go to my website, geologywriter.com.
• 0:23
  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
• 0:26
  previous four years of
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: newsletters,
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to podcast 26 of the Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Two Hot Goats,
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  SPEAKER_00: May 29,
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  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yesterday, the temperature peaked at 82 degrees in Seattle.
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  SPEAKER_00: That ain't right.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our normal high for May 28th is 68 degrees.
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  SPEAKER_00: So like any good Seattleite in such a dire situation,
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  SPEAKER_00: I panicked and sought out whatever cooling I could find.
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  SPEAKER_00: Cold drinks,
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  SPEAKER_00: our basement,
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  SPEAKER_00: and stories of cold,
• 1:00
  such as people freezing to death and resorting to cannibalism
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  on mid-19th century
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  SPEAKER_00: Arctic expeditions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Being the kind and kind of writer I am,
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  I'll spare you the details of the Arctic diet and instead
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  relate another story of
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  SPEAKER_00: cold.
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  which I hope helps my fellow Seattleites and others who dwell
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  in heat to cool down.
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  SPEAKER_00: Few animals better exemplify the cold than mountain goats.
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  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, one might even call them relics of the last ice age.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is, animals best attuned to a world of ice and snow.
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  SPEAKER_00: In other words, they are pianophiles, or snow lovers.
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  SPEAKER_00: As such,
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  they inhabit the high country of the Cascades with superb
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  adaptations to the
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  SPEAKER_00: challenging terrain and inclement weather.
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  SPEAKER_00: In order to navigate their rocky,
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  SPEAKER_00: icy world,
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  SPEAKER_00: mountain goats rely on their unusual hooves,
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  each of which is two pointed toes made of hard keratin wrapped
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  at the base in a
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  SPEAKER_00: pliant,
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  SPEAKER_00: coarse pad that extends beyond the keratin.
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  SPEAKER_00: This combination of pointed,
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  SPEAKER_00: hard,
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  SPEAKER_00: and textured acts like Velcro,
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  SPEAKER_00: providing traction on a variety of surfaces.
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  Mountain goats can also spread their toes and grip uneven
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  terrain,
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  sort of like a wrench.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a bit of a stretch,
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  but mountain goats could be called a well-muscled mountain
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  octopus equipped with
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  SPEAKER_00: eight clinging devices,
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  SPEAKER_00: a superb sense of balance,
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  SPEAKER_00: and a low center of gravity.
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  In order to survive the cold of the high country,
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  mountain goats rely on their dense fur.
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  SPEAKER_00: One study found that as winter approaches,
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  they increase their insulation to more than eight times greater
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  than in summer.
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  They accomplish this cold protection by growing guard hairs up
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  to eight inches long
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  SPEAKER_00: and a dense undercoat of twisted,
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  SPEAKER_00: interweaving,
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  SPEAKER_00: one to two inch long hairs,
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  SPEAKER_00: sometimes referred to as wool.
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  Then,
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  as the winter weather warms,
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  they shed their fur,
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  often in sizable tufts.
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  SPEAKER_00: Despite this,
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  mountain goats often have to bed down or seek out shade or snow
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  patches to avoid
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  SPEAKER_00: overheating in the summer.
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  SPEAKER_00: Several years ago, I watched a band of mountain goats on Mount St.
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  SPEAKER_00: Helens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Many of the adults were shedding.
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  SPEAKER_00: The shimmering white swaths reminded me of calving glaciers.
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  The yearly shedding of wool has long been important to native
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  people of the region.
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  SPEAKER_00: who collected the fur and wove it into blankets,
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  SPEAKER_00: robes,
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  SPEAKER_00: and other clothing,
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  SPEAKER_00: valued for their beauty,
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  SPEAKER_00: durability,
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  SPEAKER_00: lightness,
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  SPEAKER_00: and warmth.
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  Such garments were often limited to wealthier people or those
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  of higher standing.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I found some of the wool at Mount St.
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  SPEAKER_00: Helens, it was dense and soft and dotted with needles and small sticks.
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  SPEAKER_00: It didn't feel oily or have any aroma.
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  SPEAKER_00: The insulation properties of mountain goats has also attracted those less
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  SPEAKER_00: interested in aesthetics and more focused on keeping people warm.
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  Such researchers focus on the ability of a coat of hair to trap
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  air and resist heat
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  SPEAKER_00: transfer between one's body and one's environment.
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  SPEAKER_00: For instance,
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  a 1968 study that included some rather fancy mathematical
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  equations described three
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  SPEAKER_00: classes of hair coats.
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  One,
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  dense and matted coats of crimpled hairs,
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  as exemplified by domestic sheep.
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  SPEAKER_00: Two,
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  SPEAKER_00: dense coats on the order of 4,000 hairs per square centimeter,
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  SPEAKER_00: as in small mammals and some Arctic species.
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  SPEAKER_00: and three coats of long,
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  SPEAKER_00: strong hairs,
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  SPEAKER_00: which have densities of just a few hundred hairs per square centimeter.
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  SPEAKER_00: The last is the category of mountain goats.
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  SPEAKER_00: In another study published in 1964, Arthur Goldman of the U.S.
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  Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine sought out
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  solutions for keeping
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  an inactive person warm for eight hours at minus 40 degrees
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  Fahrenheit in a
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  SPEAKER_00: three-mile-per-hour wind.
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  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately,
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  SPEAKER_00: the complete Army quartermaster cold,
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  SPEAKER_00: dry,
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  SPEAKER_00: standard clothing ensemble,
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  SPEAKER_00: which totaled 35 pounds,
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  SPEAKER_00: was not up to the task.
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  SPEAKER_00: The problem was matching the needs of the torso and the extremities.
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  SPEAKER_00: You either needed to have really big gloves or really small uniform.
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  The only way around this was supplemental batteries that
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  provided auxiliary heat.
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  In one study,
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  Goldman referred to the unit of thermal insulation,
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  which was known as a CLO.
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  SPEAKER_00: One CLO of insulation is defined as,
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  SPEAKER_00: quote,
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  SPEAKER_00: everyday clothing,
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  SPEAKER_00: roughly that of a man's business suit plus vest,
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  SPEAKER_00: pants,
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  SPEAKER_00: shirt,
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  SPEAKER_00: socks,
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  SPEAKER_00: and shoes,
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  SPEAKER_00: unquote.
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  Goldman noted that the Army's top-line but inadequate
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  insulation suit had a rating of 4.3 CLO.
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  Not until several decades later was the CLO determined for
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  mountain goats.
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  SPEAKER_00: Their dense coat provides about five kilo.
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  SPEAKER_00: Clearly,
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  these beasts of the mountains are well adapted for the cold and
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  would have been
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  SPEAKER_00: even more grumpy than any Seattleite was yesterday.
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  With the temperature heading back to normal in my fair city,
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  I rejoice and celebrate.
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  I am glad that I am neither clad in a fursuit I could wear in
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  the Arctic nor
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  SPEAKER_00: wearing gloves as big as my body.
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  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
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  SPEAKER_00: if I did don the latter,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to think that it could be the start of a new fashion trend.
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  SPEAKER_00: Stay cool, everyone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
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  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
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  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
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  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of The Street Smart Naturalist,
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  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
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  a weekly newsletter and podcast focusing on the human and
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  natural world around
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  SPEAKER_00: Seattle,
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like more details about my books,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: walks,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: and talks,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for my newsletter and podcast,
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
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  And don't forget to slow down,
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  pay attention,
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  and enjoy the world around you.