A tiny mountain goat proved size doesn’t always amount to strength, as it fatally fought off a grizzly bear with its “dagger-like” horns.

A stunned hiker spotted the body of the 154lb (70kg) bear by a mountain trail, The Express reported .

The female was airlifted and studied at a nearby lab, where scientists concluded the lethal horn wounds in its armpits and neck must have been made by a mountain goat in a self defence attack.

David Laskin, a Parks Canada ecologist, told the Guardian that grizzly bears tend to attack from above, focusing on the head, the back of the neck and the shoulders of the prey.

“The defensive response of a mountain goat would be to protect itself using its sharp horns,” Laskin explained.

The bear’s mauled body was discovered on the Burger Pass trail, near Field, British Columbia, on September 4.

While mountain goats are small animals suited to high altitudes, their stocky shapes mean they can weigh as much as 275lbs, or 125kg.

Their horns, known for being razor-sharp, sometimes measure as long as 12 inches.

Laskin said Grizzly bear predation on mountain goats is relatively common.

He noted that bears put themselves at risk when predating on large ungulates like moose, and elk.

While there had been other cases of mountain goats defensively killing bears that had been reported in the past, he said you would rarely see something like this documented.

“This has definitely been interesting – and a reminder that nature is full of surprises,” he said.

The report was a marked change from a majority of news involving grizzly bears.

While bear attacks are rare, the unfortunate few who have found themselves in the way of an angry grizzly bear are typically killed, or left with life-changing scars.