Fight between goat antelope brothers at Montana zoo ends with one losing an eye
A zoo animal in Montana lost an eye after a fight with his older brother, zoo officials said.
Griff, a Sichuan takin living at ZooMontana in Billings, had “an altercation with his brother, Kahn,” zoo officials said in a July 12 post on Facebook.
“Our amazing team of veterinarians responded right away, and it was determined that Griff’s right eye had sustained significant damage. Surgical removal of the eye was performed right away,” zoo officials said.
Griff is recovering from the late June incident and doing well, according to zoo officials, who said that “while dominance displays this time of year are quite normal for the takin brothers, we have made the decision to separate Griff and Kahn for the foreseeable future to prevent any further injury to either takin.”
Takin are sometimes called goat antelopes.
“The takin looks to be a mix of a lot of their distant relatives like the musk ox (in size and shape) and sheep, especially the Barbary sheep (when it comes to their face),” zoo officials said, adding that while takin may not be “widely known here, in China they are recognized as a national treasure. There is also a theory that the Beast from Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is based on the takin due to their similar features.”
Griff was born in 2016 and came to the Montana zoo from Colorado in 2020, according to zoo officials.
Kahn is a year older, and his forehead has a scar from sparring with Griff, zoo officials said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Fight between goat antelope brothers at Montana zoo ends with one losing an eye."
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