Capra (genus)
This article is about goats, the animals. For other uses, see Goat (disambiguation).
| Capra | |
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| Adult male or buck goat | |
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| Genus: | Capra Linnaeus, 1758
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A goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat.
The animal is most commonly known as the domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus), a domesticated subspecies of the Wild Goat. Goats are bovids (members of the family Bovidae) and caprins (subfamily Caprinae). Goats are ruminants, meaning they chew cud. These animals have a four-chambered stomach which plays a vital role in digesting, regurgitating and re-digesting their food.
A male goat is called a buck or billy, and a female is called a doe or nanny. Young goats are called kids.
The Rocky Mountain Goat, despite its name, is not considered a true goat by scientists as it belongs to the genus Oreamnos.
Species and subspecies
Photo by Scott Bauer for the USDA
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Capra aegagrus | wild goat (Bezoar Goat, Pasang) |
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Capra aegagrus hircus | domestic goat |
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Capra aegagrus creticus | kri-kri (Cretan goat, Agrimi, Cretan ibex) |
| File:Capra caucasica 11261.jpg | Capra caucasia | West Caucasian tur |
| File:C cylindricornis3.jpg | Capra cylindricornis | East Caucasian tur |
| File:Kknsx100.jpg | Capra hircus | Cashmere goat |
| File:Bukharan markhor.jpg | Capra falconeri | markhor |
| Capra falconeri heptneri | Bukharan markhor | |
| Capra falconeri chialtanensis | Chialtan markhor | |
| Capra falconeri megaceros | straight-horned markhor | |
| Capra falconeri jerdoni | Suleman markhor | |
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Capra ibex | alpine ibex |
| Capra ibex ibex | ||
| Capra ibex nubiana | Nubian ibex, also Capra nubiana | |
| Capra ibex sibirica | Asiatic ibex, also Capra sibirica | |
| Capra pyrenaica | Spanish ibex | |
| Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica | Pyrenean Ibex† | |
| Capra pyrenaica lusitanica | Portuguese Ibex† | |
| Capra walie | Walia ibex |
Domestication and uses
- Main article: Domestic goat
Along with sheep, goats were among the first domesticated animals, the domestication process starting at least 10,000 years ago. One claim falls on the northern Iranian town of Sangsar, here it is said, is where the first goats were domesticated. Easy human access to goat hair, meat, and milk were the primary motivations. Goat skins were popularly used until the Middle Ages for water and wine bottles when traveling and camping and as parchment for writing in certain regions.
The meat and milk of goats is still consumed, goat's milk having become more popular in recent years because it is easier to digest than cow's milk. Many call goat's milk a universal milk, because it can be given to most mammals. Goats milk is also used to make cheeses such as Rocamadour and Feta. Goat's meat is called 'chevon'. Goat skin is still used to make kid gloves and other items of clothing. Angora goats produce mohair, a fine soft lusterous fiber. Pygora goats produce a cashmere type fiber. Cashmere and Mohair that can be made into sweaters and other items. Some people keep goats as pets as well.
Herds of goats can be used as a holistic weed control tool. The city of Boulder, Colorado experimented in 2005 by using herds of goats to diffuse knapweed and Canada thistle.[1]
Similarity to sheep
The goat is closely related to the sheep, but differs from it in that the tail is shorter and the hollow horns are long and directed upward, backward, and outward while those of the sheep are spirally twisted. Like sheep, goats are herd animals and survive better in a herd situation than alone. A herd typically has a Herd Queen, who leads the herd while browsing. They are also much more lively than sheep and their inquisitive nature makes them curious pets.
Hybrids With sheep
Although sheep and goats seem similar and can be mated together they belong to different genera. Goats are caprinae and have 60 chromosomes while sheep are ovinae and have 54v chromosomes. This mismatch of chromosomes means any offspring of a sheep-goat pairing is generally stillborn (the famous geep is a chimera, not a hybrid). At Botswana Ministry of Agriculture, a ram that was kept with a nanny goat impregnated the goat resulting in a live offspring that had 57 chromosomes. This was called "The Toast of Botswana". The hybrid is intermediate between the two parent species in type. It has a coarse outer coat, awoolly inner coat, long goat-like legs and a heavy sheep-like body. Although infertile, the Toast of Botswana had to be castrated to prevent unwanted sexual behaviour because it continually mounted the sheep and goats sharing its enclosure.
In 1969, Australian farmer Dick Lanyon, who farmed near Melbourne, Australia, kept a billy-goat among his sheep to scare off foxes during the lambing season. In September of the same year, he claimed to have dozens of ‘lambs’ which were sheep-goat hybrids. The goat was locked up while scientists examined the supposed hybrids. As no more was heard of this case, it is believed that the lambs were pure-bred sheep.
There is a longstanding belief in sheep/goat hybrids which is due to the animals' resemblance to each other. Some primitive varieties of sheep may be misidentified as goats. In "Darwinism An Exposition Of The Theory Of Natural Selection With Some Of Its Applications" (1889), Alfred Russel Wallace wrote:
- [...] the following statement of Mr. Low: "It has been long known to shepherds, though questioned by naturalists, that the progeny of the cross between the sheep and goat is fertile. Breeds of this mixed race are numerous in the north of Europe." Nothing appears to be known of such hybrids either in Scandinavia or in Italy; but Professor Giglioli of Florence has kindly given me some useful references to works in which they are described. The following extract from his letter is very interesting: "I need not tell you that there being such hybrids is now generally accepted as a fact. Buffon (Supplements, tom. iii. p. 7, 1756) obtained one such hybrid in 1751 and eight in 1752. Sanson (La Culture, vol. vi. p. 372, 1865) mentions a case observed in the Vosges, France. Geoff. St. Hilaire (Hist. Nat. Gén. des reg. org., vol. iii. p. 163) was the first to mention, I believe, that in different parts of South America the ram is more usually crossed with the she-goat than the sheep with the he-goat. The well-known 'pellones' of Chile are produced by the second an third generation of such hybrids (Gay, 'Hist, de Chile,' vol. i. p. 466, Agriculture, 1862). Hybrids bred from goat and sheep are called 'chabin' in French, and 'cabruno' in Spanish. In Chile such hybrids are called 'carneros lanudos'; their breeding inter se appears to be not always successful, and often the original cross has to be recommenced to obtain the proportion of three-eighths of he-goat and five-eighths of sheep, or of three-eighths of ram and five-eighths of she-goat; such being the reputed best hybrids."
Behavior
Goats are extremely curious and intelligent. They are easily housebroken, and trained to pull carts and walk on leads. They are also known for escaping their pens. If you have inferior fencing, be assured your goats will test it and soon you will know where the gaps are. Goats are very coordinated and can climb and hold their balance in the most precarious places. Goats are also widely known for their ability to climb trees, although the tree generally has to be on somewhat of an angle.
A common misconception is that goats will eat anything. This is not true at all; in reality they are fastidious eaters and will not even take a bite of something that has fallen onto the ground or that something else has had in its mouth. Goats prefer to graze on shrubbery and weeds for food. Goats graze more like deer than sheep, preferring woody shrubs rather than grasses. Mold in a goat's feed can make it sick and possibly kill it. Nightshade is also poisonous; wilted fruit tree leaves can also kill goats. Goats should not be fed grass with any signs of mold. Silage (corn stalks) is not good for goats, but haylage can be used if consumed immediately after opening. Alfalfa is their favorite hay, fescue the least palatable and least nutritious.
Goats in folklore and mythology
Since its inception, Christianity has associated Satan with goats (see Pan (mythology)). A common superstition in the Middle Ages was that goats whispered lewd sentences in the ears of the saints. The origin of this belief was probably the behavior of the buck in rut, the very epitome of lust. The common mediaeval depiction of a devil was that of a goat like face with horns and small beard (a goatee). The Black Mass, a probably-mythological "Satanic mass," was said to involve a black goat, a form in which Satan supposedly manifested himself for worship.
The goat has had a lingering connection with Satanism and pagan religions, even into modern times. The pentagram, a symbol used by both Satanism and Wicca, is said to be shaped like a goat's head. It is sometimes called the goat of Mendes, after a goat that supposedly copulated with priestesses during certain rituals in an ancient cult in Mendes, Greece.
The Norse god of thunder, Thor, had a chariot that was pulled by several goats. At night when he would set up camp, Thor would eat the meat of the goats, but take care that all bones remained whole. Then he would wrap the remains up, and in the morning, the goats would always come back to life to pull the chariot. When a mortal who was invited to share the meal broke one of the goats' legs to suck the marrow, however, the animal's leg remained broken in the morrow, and the mortal was forced to serve Thor as a servant to compensate for the damage.
The goat is also one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. It is thought that each animal is associated with certain personality traits; those born in a year of the goat are predicted to be shy, introverted, creative, and perfectionist. See Sheep (Zodiac).
The Capricorn sign in the Western zodiac is usually depicted as a goat with a fish's tail.
Faun is a mythical creature representing part goat.
Gallery
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Goat skull -
Female goat, also called a nanny -
Domestic Goats high up in the hills -
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