Stiefelgeiss is a breed of domestic mountain goats originating in the highlands of St. Gallen

St. Gallen

St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. Their population is currently less than one thousand.

Both male and female Stiefelgeiss goats have horns. Their coats range from a light greyish brown to a dark reddish color. The animals are not excessively shaggy, but on the animals' hind end, long beard hairs, called "Mänteli," grow much longer and often are of a different color from the rest of the coat. Some members of the breed display long, beard-like hairs on the chin.

Until the 1920s, the goat was actively bred, but by the 1980s, it was nearly extinct. Noting this, the Swiss preservation foundation Pro Specie Rara took an interest in the breed. Now mostly managed by the Booted Goat Breeders Club of Switzerland, the ongoing conservation efforts encourage farmers to keep the goats for their agricultural usefulness, for service as mother nannies, and for meat. While still an endangered population, the recent trend in their numbers has been positive. As of 2001, there were 600 members spread among 87 breeders. They are concentrated in eastern Switzerland, with scattered breeding groups also found in the central and western regions of the country.