Why are these death-defying goats climbing this 160-foot-tall, near vertical dam?  Better question is How are they defying gravity?  Check it out in the National Geographic footage below:

[spvideo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0jMzdbEui0[/spvideo]

Thanks to their specially designed split hooves and rubber-like soles, the Alpine Ibex is able to climb near vertical surfaces with ease to lick the side of this dam.

You might be wondering why they would go to these heights just to lick a rock.  However, the dam's salt-crusted stones provide essential nutrients that the herbivorous mammals need.