Patagonia 150 plus

Wildlife

Wild Goats

Size: Between 65 cm and 70 cm up to the shoulder (male); between 60 cm and 70 cm (female). They are smaller than domestic goats.
Body: Very hairy; long horns (about 45 cm - 75 cm) on the male, short horns on the female.
Weight: Male about 38 kg - 51 kg, female about 35 kg - 40 kg.
Colour: White, black, black and white, dark brown. Often, the front part is dark and the back is lighter.
Food: Grass, sedge and rushes in summer; heather, moss, bark, shrubs, bracken and gorse in winter.
Lives: Mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales. A different breed (Kasmir) can be found near Llandudno.

Wild goats have lived in Snowdonia for centuries. They’ve been there since the Middle Ages but became wild when farming methods changed in the 17th century. Farmers preferred to keep more sheep. Today, they roam the mountains searching for food but sometimes they come down to the villages.

Young goats are called kids and are born between January and April. Usually one kid is born but sometimes old goats give birth to twins. A family of goats, that is the mother, last year’s kid and this year’s kid, often stay together but the males will live separately. Sometimes, several families will come together. In the past, shepherds used to milk the goats but left enough milk for the kids.

Today, there are about 800 goats roaming the mountains of Snowdonia. Some people complain that there are too many of them and that they damage gardens by eating flowers and vegetables. They also damage young trees in areas where nature conservation is important.

Did you know…?

Wild goats can climb dangerous rocks, and go to places that sheep and cattle can’t reach.

Goat’s milk helps to cure some illnesses.

More people drink goat’s milk than cow’s milk.

The pupil of a goat’s eye is a rectangular shape and goats can see very well at night.

“Cyfri'r geifr” (counting the goats) – this is a famous Welsh folk song about goats. It mentions white, black, blue, red and even pink goats!

Patagonia 150 plus

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