Feral goat
Encyclopedia
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
(Capra aegagrus hircus) when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world. When feral goats reach large populations in habitats which are not adapted to them, they may become an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
with serious negative effects, such as removing native scrub, tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and other vegetation. However, in other circumstances they may become a natural component of the habitat, even replacing locally extinct wild goat
Wild Goat
The wild goat is a widespread species of goat, with a distribution ranging from Europe and Asia Minor to central Asia and the Middle East. It is the ancestor of the domestic goat.-Social structure:...
s. Feral goats are sometimes used for conservation grazing
Conservation grazing
Conservation grazing is the use of semi-feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats....
, to control the spread of undesirable scrub or weeds in open natural habitats such as chalk grassland and heathland.
Australia
Goats were first introduced into AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1788. Since then they have become feral and are now causing an estimated economic loss of $
Aud
Aud might refer to*Australian dollar *Ambedkar University, Delhi *American University in Dubai *Doctor of Audiology *Auðr, the son of Nótt and Naglfari in Norse mythology...
25 million per year as well as environmental degradation. Feral goats in Australia are mainly found in the suburbs of Sydney.
England
Descendants of NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
goats have inhabited the Cheviot Hills
Cheviot Hills
The Cheviot Hills is a range of rolling hills straddling the England–Scotland border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.There is a broad split between the northern and the southern Cheviots...
of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
for more than five thousand years.
Galapagos
Feral goats have caused serious damage to native vegetation on the Galapagos archipelago. However, recent intensive eradication efforts have eliminated goats on Isabela, Pinta and Santiago.Ireland
Feral goats are common in many areas of the Irish west coast including counties MayoCounty Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
and Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
. In the town of Kilorglin, in County Kerry, a Puck Fair takes place each year in which a wild goat is captured and crowned "King" of the fair, in a continuation of ancient Celtic practices. The Bilberry Goats
Bilberry Goats
The Bilberry goat is a unique breed of feral goat which is believed to have lived in one herd on Bilberry Rock in Waterford City in the south of the Republic of Ireland for hundreds of years....
are feral goats living on Bilberry Rock in Waterford City.
Juan Fernandez
Feral goats, introduced in 1574, had become a plague in the Juan Fernández IslandsJuan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
.
New Zealand
The Arapawa Island goatArapawa Island goat
The Arapawa Goat is a breed of feral goat descended from Old English milch goats released on Arapawa Island off the coast of New Zealand. It is directly descended from a breed of English landrace goat which no longer exists in its native England...
is a breed of feral goat found only on Arapawa Island
Arapawa Island
Arapawa Island is a small island located in the Marlborough Sounds, at the north east tip of the South Island of New Zealand.The island has a land area of...
. There was also an Auckland Island Goat
Auckland Island Goat
The Auckland Island Goat was a feral breed of domestic goat found on Auckland Island, New Zealand. It is now extinct.-History:...
, but it became extinct in the late 20th century. The New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Feral goat is the descendant of many other species of goat, such as Angora
Angora goat
The Angora goat is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara , Turkey and its surrounding region in central Anatolia...
, Kiko
Kiko goat
The Kiko Goat originated from New Zealand by crossing feral goats with dairy goats in the 1980s. Kiko is actually the Maori word for flesh or meat...
, Spanish
Spanish goat
The Spanish goat, also called the brush goat or scrub goat, came originally from Spain via Mexico to the USA. It is now a meat and brush-clearing type found widely in the U.S. The term "wood" , "brush" or "briar" , "hill" , and "scrub" goat tends to be used in the Southeast and elsewhere...
, Pygora
Pygora Goat
The Pygora goat is a cross between the Pygmy goat and the Angora goat that produces three distinct kinds of fleece and has the smaller size of the Pygmy.-History:...
, Boer
Boer goat
The Boer goat was developed inSouth Africa in the early 1900s for meat production. Their name is derived from the Dutch word "Boer" meaning farmer. The Boer goat was probably bred from the indigenous goats of the Namaqua Bushmen and the Fooku tribes, with some crossing of Indian and European...
, Saanen
Saanen goat
Saanen goats are a white or cream-colored breed of goat, named for the Saanen valley in Switzerland. Saanens are the largest of the goat dairy breeds. Does typically weigh 150 lb or more, with bucks weighing over 200 lb . The Saanen breed also produces the most milk on average, and tends to have a...
, Nubian and Alpine
Alpine (goat)
Alpine is a breed of domestic goat known for its very good milking ability.They are multi-colored and have no set markings. They have erect ears, horns, and have a dish-face....
.
Scotland
Feral goats are a fairly common sight in the Scottish HighlandsScottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. The goats are descendants of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
abandoned, through necessity, by Highlanders during the Highland Clearances
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
. The goats act as a living reminder of the region's turbulent past.
United States
The San Clemente Island goats were a feral species that arrived in 1875 on San Clemente IslandSan Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
from Santa Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, or Catalina Island, may refer to:*Santa Catalina Island, California*Catalina Island, Dominican Republic*Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, one of the departments of Colombia, consisting of two island groups*Owariki or Owa Riki , an island in the...
, both off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. They remained isolated there until several were adopted out to become domesticated
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
on the mainland in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The US Navy was given the right to exterminate the last remaining feral goats on San Clemente Island in 1991. They are genetically related to Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
goats, though their isolation has caused enough genetic drift to make them distinct from goats now in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and other Spanish goat
Spanish goat
The Spanish goat, also called the brush goat or scrub goat, came originally from Spain via Mexico to the USA. It is now a meat and brush-clearing type found widely in the U.S. The term "wood" , "brush" or "briar" , "hill" , and "scrub" goat tends to be used in the Southeast and elsewhere...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting genetic diversity among rare breeds of livestock...
considers them a critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
heritage breed
Rare breed (agriculture)
A rare breed is defined as a breed of livestock or poultry that is not common in modern agriculture, though it may have been in the past. Various national and international organizations, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy or the Rare Breeds...
. In 2008, their global population was approximately 400; all now domesticated.
Wales
Feral goats occur in the WelshWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
mountains. They are used for conservation grazing in a number of places, such as at Stackpole in south Wales.