- Goats are responsible for Cashmere
You may already know that cashmere is made of goat fur if you’re in the fashion industry, but this was news to me. I was reading a post on this blog and I was surprised to find out that this costly and luxurious wool is actually made by goats!
You may be shocked to find out if you’ve ever smelled a goat before, that people actually wear their fur. For thousands of years, cashmere has been produced in Nepal. In the popular handmade shawls of Kashmir, the fibre is also known as pashm (Persian for wool) or pashmina (Persian/Urdu word derived from Pashm) for its use.
- Goats are really social, really,
In spite of being depicted as reserved and introverted in the 12 Chinese Zodiac species, goats are actually very social. They always talk with each other and even after a year of being apart, mothers will remember their “kid’s” bleat. - Goats Coffee Found
A goat herder named Kaldi found long ago in the Ethiopian highlands that his goats were behaving a little odd. They were jumping up and down and racing into the early hours of the morning in circles.
He soon realised that their unusual behaviour was due to a certain berry being eaten by them. The berry soon became known for its powerful properties and word spread to the Arabian Peninsula about its incredible effects, and it was transported and sold around the world from there.
Clearly, the Dancing Goat Coffee Company in the UK has learned about this legend. Coffee today is the second-most traded commodity in the world (next to oil). Well, thanks, goats!
- The Goats Are Quirky
We all know that goats are unusual creatures, but in fact their scientific name, Capra aegagrus hircus, derives from the Latin word Capra, which means peculiar, whimsical, inventive and unexpectedly changeable. - Goats with their pupils at the back of their heads
Well, not actually, but goats have an unusual, rectangular pupil that allows them to see around them at 320 degrees. Their strangely-shaped eyes give them amazing night vision, too! - The Big Goat, The Little Goat
In reality, goats range in size from tiny 35 lb pygmy goats to giant 240 lb Boer goats! Both animals are bred for meat and pygmy goats are known for their high-quality milk, whereas Boer goats obviously have more fat to feast on. - Goats Faint When Afraid They’re
This is currently a controversial myth.
In fact, goats do not faint, but the Tennessee Fainting Goat has a central nervous system disease called congenital myotonia, in which when they panic, their muscles become temporarily paralysed.
No discomfort is caused by the disease, but the animals do fall over. It’s funny no matter what causes them to tip over, so you shouldn’t go around yelling at goats to make them faint… just watch it instead on YouTube!
- Give a buck to two kids and call them a ride
Young goats are called children and bucks are adult male goats (or billies). Females are called does (or nannies) and a trip is called a party of goats. - Never Sleeping Wild Goats
Well, that’s right, wild goats are like Chuck Norris. They’re not sleeping, they’re waiting.
This is actually a controversial subject, but many goat specialists claim that wild goats never sleep (yes, there is such a thing as a goat specialist). Others say that it’s a circumstance of “tree falling in an empty forest” and the goats are simply sleeping while nobody watches.
Domesticated goats, meanwhile, sleep roughly 5 hours a day.
Uh. 10. Goats were the first domesticated animals to be
The archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the probable origin of almost all domestic goats today is supported by recent genetic research.
As early as 7,000 B.C., it is believed that humans domesticated goats. Perhaps goats are really a man’s best friend?
- Goats Apply Tools
One of the few animals known to exploit their environment to do their bidding is goats. Using a branch to collect honey may not be as dramatic as a chimpanzee, but goats have been known to pick up straw and use it to scratch their backs.
Historically, they were kept on ships on long journeys for meat and milk and they were rarely thrown overboard.
It wasn’t a ritualistic sacrifice when the captain had his goats walk around the plank. In reality, he was giving the goats a much-needed swim around the boat to avoid dystrophy in their muscles.
So, can goats go swimming? The reason is that they are excellent swimmers and that they are known to swim long distances and even across seas to settle on neighbouring islands.
Uh. 14. Goats Are Climbing Trees
You didn’t really live until you saw a goat in a forest. One of the most amusing sites I’ve ever seen was seeing goats precariously hanging from the outermost branches of an argan tree in Morocco. Only check this photo out:
A fifteen. Wise Goats, Inquisitive Goats and Picky Goats
You may have seen goats chewing on rubber and odd household products, but it’s not because they’re starving or chewing mindlessly.
In fact, goats are very inquisitive and they often pick up objects to study them. Although goats will put almost anything for inspection in their mouth, they absolutely hate paper and tin cans.
Not only are the goats cute and hilarious, they are also highly intelligent and complex animals with many peculiarities of behaviour and a long history with the human race.
The amusing video below and my subsequent research on goats inspired this post. I hope that you enjoyed reading this!
