Goat Flees Nativity Scene, Still On The Lam
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — A goat that apparently didn't want to be part of a Minnesota Nativity scene has headed for greener pastures.
The 3-year-old Angora goat was supposed to have a supporting role at Bethlehem Church in Fergus Falls. Instead it escaped its leash Saturday afternoon, and remained on the lam Monday.
The goat's owner is Jim Aakre of rural Underwood. He says he tried to chase it for about two hours, but the lack of snow made tracking difficult.
The wayward goat has been spotted several times since it escaped, but police haven't been able to collar it.
A Fergus Falls Journal report ( ) says Aakre and his wife also provided a llama and two puppies for the service.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/goat-flees-nativity-scene_n_1171387.html?ref=weird-news
Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Hungry goats improve habitat for rare native species in Iowa project
The following is from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University:
MAXWELL, Iowa — At the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Polk County, researchers have developed a novel tool for restoring biodiversity to a landscape choked by invasive species: Set loose a herd of hungry goats.
The project began in 2008 when the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture awarded a competitive grant to Iowa Heartland Resource Conservation and Development to study the benefits of incorporating livestock onto conservation lands. By dining on unwanted buckthorn, goats helped restore a rare swamp white oak savannah and created habitat for a wide array of native species, including Blanding’s turtles, listed as threatened in Iowa.
Loren Lown, natural resource specialist for the Polk County Conservation Board, leads the project. Lown asked Deb and Eric Finch of State Center, Iowa, to let their herd of 30-plus goats browse at Chichaqua Bottoms, a 7,300-acre greenbelt along the Skunk River. The partnership allowed the Finches to raise healthy goats and rest their home pastures while Lown cleaned up the ecosystem.
The goats, rotated through a 10-acre area divided into three paddocks, munched on invasive buckthorn and other unwanted plants. Goats prefer to eat twigs, leaves and woody species first, leaving the herbaceous layer alone. Lown described them as “little buckthorn bombs.”
Read more here ...
MAXWELL, Iowa — At the Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Polk County, researchers have developed a novel tool for restoring biodiversity to a landscape choked by invasive species: Set loose a herd of hungry goats.
The project began in 2008 when the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture awarded a competitive grant to Iowa Heartland Resource Conservation and Development to study the benefits of incorporating livestock onto conservation lands. By dining on unwanted buckthorn, goats helped restore a rare swamp white oak savannah and created habitat for a wide array of native species, including Blanding’s turtles, listed as threatened in Iowa.
Loren Lown, natural resource specialist for the Polk County Conservation Board, leads the project. Lown asked Deb and Eric Finch of State Center, Iowa, to let their herd of 30-plus goats browse at Chichaqua Bottoms, a 7,300-acre greenbelt along the Skunk River. The partnership allowed the Finches to raise healthy goats and rest their home pastures while Lown cleaned up the ecosystem.
The goats, rotated through a 10-acre area divided into three paddocks, munched on invasive buckthorn and other unwanted plants. Goats prefer to eat twigs, leaves and woody species first, leaving the herbaceous layer alone. Lown described them as “little buckthorn bombs.”
Read more here ...
Friday, December 2, 2011
Goats and rats removed from two Fijian islands
Invasive species Cast Away in Fiji
December 2011. Goats and rats have been removed from two Fijian islands in a joint operation conducted by BirdLife International's Fiji Programme and the National Trust of Fiji aimed at protecting unique wildlife on Monuriki and Kadomo. "This is a massive achievement which will provide benefits for the iguanas, birds, plants and people of these islands", said Sialesi Rasalato from BirdLife International.
Seabirds and iguana
The Mamanuca island chain is a well-known tourist destination and nationally important for some unique and threatened wildlife. The islands of Monuriki and Kadomo are among Fiji's most critical islands for burrowing seabirds and endemic iguana.
Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana
Monuriki was the location for the Tom Hanks film Cast Away which depicts his successful attempts to survive on the island following a plane crash. In real life, the 41 hectare island is home to less than a hundred Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana Brachylophus vitiensis which are found on only a few islands, in the dry western side of the Fijian archipelago. Both Monuriki and Kadomo also provide vital habitat for nationally significant breeding colonies of Wedge-tailed ShearwaterPuffinus pacificus. Thousands of the fish-eating seabirds have excavated burrows across the islands in which to rear their chicks, and can be heard making their strange ‘baby-crying' calls after dark.
In 1999 and 2003, the National Trust of Fiji surveyed a few islands in the Mamanuca Group detecting a rapid decline in the iguana population as a result of major habitat degradation by goats. In 2009, BirdLife International undertook surveys that showed that rats and goats were also posing severe threats to the breeding seabirds on both islands.
Introduced by humans and alien to Fiji, rats eat many life forms including eggs, seeds, and insects, whilst goats eat all plants within reach and trample fragile seabird burrows.
Together these pests have substantially altered the ability of native plants and animals to exist on the islands and, if left unchecked, would lead to the loss of many including the shearwaters and iguanas. "Most documented extinctions, and present causes for decline among Pacific island birds, are the result of invasive alien species like rats and goats", said Elenoa Seniloli of BirdLife International.
Eradication of goats and rats
To deal with these threats, the National Trust of Fiji and BirdLife International carried out an intensive and complex operation to rid the two islands permanently of goats and rats.
For the goats, those that could be mustered and caught - by the local Yanuya Rugby Team - were taken to the mainland, while all remaining animals were later eliminated by professional hunters from New Zealand using trained sniffer dogs. The rats were eradicated by spreading specially-formulated rodenticide from a helicopter in a hi-tech procedure using GPS equipment and a specifically designed spreader bucket which could calibrate required bait-drops. If no sign of either pest are detected after two years, Monuriki and Kadomo islands will be officially declared rat and goat-free.
It's now vitally important that these alien creatures don't return, and project partners are calling for all visitors to check their boats and equipment for unwanted stowaways before landing on the islands. "It has taken years of preparation and work to rid these introduced pest animals from Monuriki and Kadomo, and a careless visitor could bring them back in a day", said Jone Niukula of the National Trust of Fiji.
"We ask visitors to be especially careful", added Joeli Vadada - landowner and National Trust of Fiji Volunteer Ranger for Monuriki Island. "Visitors to the islands need to check everything before they go ashore for stowaway seeds, lizards, rodents and insects."
BirdLife is now developing a bio-security programme that will provide further information and training to the Islands communities and tourist operators, enabling them to prevent pests from getting back to the Islands. "We also intend to work with the landowners in developing projects that enable them to benefit from the islands natural resources in a sustainable way such as through eco-tourism", noted Mrs Seniloli.
12th Island restored
This is the 12th successful island restoration programme completed by the BirdLife International Fiji Programme. With over 300 islands in Fiji there are many opportunities to eradicate unwanted pests and improve the future for biodiversity and people.
The planning, consultations, financing, technical assistance and implementation of the goat and rat operations have required numerous partnerships within Fiji and around the world. In communicating the project's success, BirdLife International and the National Trust of Fiji acknowledge that this result would not have been possible without the efforts of many, including Nadroga/Navosa Provincial Council, the Fiji Department of Environment, the Fiji Police Force, Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, Mamanuca Environment Society, the Pacific Invasives Initiative, Ross Wharfe, Luke Robertson, New Zealand Department of Conservation, skilled hunters, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, the UK Darwin Initiative, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and European Community and the landowners of Monuriki and Kadomo Mataqali Vuna-i-vi and Mataqali Namatua, Taukei Yanuya, and the village of Yanuya (Koro ko Yanuya).
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=1&listitemid=12364
December 2011. Goats and rats have been removed from two Fijian islands in a joint operation conducted by BirdLife International's Fiji Programme and the National Trust of Fiji aimed at protecting unique wildlife on Monuriki and Kadomo. "This is a massive achievement which will provide benefits for the iguanas, birds, plants and people of these islands", said Sialesi Rasalato from BirdLife International.
Seabirds and iguana
The Mamanuca island chain is a well-known tourist destination and nationally important for some unique and threatened wildlife. The islands of Monuriki and Kadomo are among Fiji's most critical islands for burrowing seabirds and endemic iguana.
Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana
Monuriki was the location for the Tom Hanks film Cast Away which depicts his successful attempts to survive on the island following a plane crash. In real life, the 41 hectare island is home to less than a hundred Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana Brachylophus vitiensis which are found on only a few islands, in the dry western side of the Fijian archipelago. Both Monuriki and Kadomo also provide vital habitat for nationally significant breeding colonies of Wedge-tailed ShearwaterPuffinus pacificus. Thousands of the fish-eating seabirds have excavated burrows across the islands in which to rear their chicks, and can be heard making their strange ‘baby-crying' calls after dark.
In 1999 and 2003, the National Trust of Fiji surveyed a few islands in the Mamanuca Group detecting a rapid decline in the iguana population as a result of major habitat degradation by goats. In 2009, BirdLife International undertook surveys that showed that rats and goats were also posing severe threats to the breeding seabirds on both islands.
Introduced by humans and alien to Fiji, rats eat many life forms including eggs, seeds, and insects, whilst goats eat all plants within reach and trample fragile seabird burrows.
Together these pests have substantially altered the ability of native plants and animals to exist on the islands and, if left unchecked, would lead to the loss of many including the shearwaters and iguanas. "Most documented extinctions, and present causes for decline among Pacific island birds, are the result of invasive alien species like rats and goats", said Elenoa Seniloli of BirdLife International.
Eradication of goats and rats
To deal with these threats, the National Trust of Fiji and BirdLife International carried out an intensive and complex operation to rid the two islands permanently of goats and rats.
For the goats, those that could be mustered and caught - by the local Yanuya Rugby Team - were taken to the mainland, while all remaining animals were later eliminated by professional hunters from New Zealand using trained sniffer dogs. The rats were eradicated by spreading specially-formulated rodenticide from a helicopter in a hi-tech procedure using GPS equipment and a specifically designed spreader bucket which could calibrate required bait-drops. If no sign of either pest are detected after two years, Monuriki and Kadomo islands will be officially declared rat and goat-free.
It's now vitally important that these alien creatures don't return, and project partners are calling for all visitors to check their boats and equipment for unwanted stowaways before landing on the islands. "It has taken years of preparation and work to rid these introduced pest animals from Monuriki and Kadomo, and a careless visitor could bring them back in a day", said Jone Niukula of the National Trust of Fiji.
"We ask visitors to be especially careful", added Joeli Vadada - landowner and National Trust of Fiji Volunteer Ranger for Monuriki Island. "Visitors to the islands need to check everything before they go ashore for stowaway seeds, lizards, rodents and insects."
BirdLife is now developing a bio-security programme that will provide further information and training to the Islands communities and tourist operators, enabling them to prevent pests from getting back to the Islands. "We also intend to work with the landowners in developing projects that enable them to benefit from the islands natural resources in a sustainable way such as through eco-tourism", noted Mrs Seniloli.
12th Island restored
This is the 12th successful island restoration programme completed by the BirdLife International Fiji Programme. With over 300 islands in Fiji there are many opportunities to eradicate unwanted pests and improve the future for biodiversity and people.
The planning, consultations, financing, technical assistance and implementation of the goat and rat operations have required numerous partnerships within Fiji and around the world. In communicating the project's success, BirdLife International and the National Trust of Fiji acknowledge that this result would not have been possible without the efforts of many, including Nadroga/Navosa Provincial Council, the Fiji Department of Environment, the Fiji Police Force, Biosecurity Authority of Fiji, Mamanuca Environment Society, the Pacific Invasives Initiative, Ross Wharfe, Luke Robertson, New Zealand Department of Conservation, skilled hunters, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, the UK Darwin Initiative, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and European Community and the landowners of Monuriki and Kadomo Mataqali Vuna-i-vi and Mataqali Namatua, Taukei Yanuya, and the village of Yanuya (Koro ko Yanuya).
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=1&listitemid=12364
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Dancing goat 'like a kid'
A dancing goat has become something of a local celebrity in a Chinese village.
Owner Zhao Huaiyun, of Gao'an village, Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan province, says his goat loves to dance.
He has been offered a small fortune for the eight-month-old animal but is refusing to sell it.
"It's like a kid, always following me everywhere I go," he said.
People were coming from all over the area to see it peform, Zhao added.
"Whenever it has a bit of free time, it will stand up and dance in a circle and even shake hands with visitors," he said.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat
Owner Zhao Huaiyun, of Gao'an village, Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan province, says his goat loves to dance.
He has been offered a small fortune for the eight-month-old animal but is refusing to sell it.
"It's like a kid, always following me everywhere I go," he said.
People were coming from all over the area to see it peform, Zhao added.
"Whenever it has a bit of free time, it will stand up and dance in a circle and even shake hands with visitors," he said.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Dancing goat fights off stray dogs
A Chinese man says he has trained his pet goat to perform tricks and to act as a guard dog at his home.
Zhao Huaiyun says the 20-month-old goat will fight off stray dogs to protect his home in Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
And he claims the animal even makes sure he answers his telephone whenever he leaves it around the house and doesn't hear it ring.
"It's really smart," he told the West China City Daily. "It loves to dance with me and it can shake hands with visitors.
"And whenever it hears my mobile phone ring, it runs up to me, puts its forelegs on my arms, and baas nonstop until I answer it.
"Sometimes neighbours' dogs run to my home to try and steal food, and then my goat tries to drive them away. If he can't win the fight, he runs back into the house, calling me for help."
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat_fights_off_stray_dogs
Zhao Huaiyun says the 20-month-old goat will fight off stray dogs to protect his home in Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
And he claims the animal even makes sure he answers his telephone whenever he leaves it around the house and doesn't hear it ring.
"It's really smart," he told the West China City Daily. "It loves to dance with me and it can shake hands with visitors.
"And whenever it hears my mobile phone ring, it runs up to me, puts its forelegs on my arms, and baas nonstop until I answer it.
"Sometimes neighbours' dogs run to my home to try and steal food, and then my goat tries to drive them away. If he can't win the fight, he runs back into the house, calling me for help."
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat_fights_off_stray_dogs
Dancing goat fights off stray dogs
A Chinese man says he has trained his pet goat to perform tricks and to act as a guard dog at his home.
Zhao Huaiyun says the 20-month-old goat will fight off stray dogs to protect his home in Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
And he claims the animal even makes sure he answers his telephone whenever he leaves it around the house and doesn't hear it ring.
"It's really smart," he told the West China City Daily. "It loves to dance with me and it can shake hands with visitors.
"And whenever it hears my mobile phone ring, it runs up to me, puts its forelegs on my arms, and baas nonstop until I answer it.
"Sometimes neighbours' dogs run to my home to try and steal food, and then my goat tries to drive them away. If he can't win the fight, he runs back into the house, calling me for help."
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat_fights_off_stray_dogs
Zhao Huaiyun says the 20-month-old goat will fight off stray dogs to protect his home in Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
And he claims the animal even makes sure he answers his telephone whenever he leaves it around the house and doesn't hear it ring.
"It's really smart," he told the West China City Daily. "It loves to dance with me and it can shake hands with visitors.
"And whenever it hears my mobile phone ring, it runs up to me, puts its forelegs on my arms, and baas nonstop until I answer it.
"Sometimes neighbours' dogs run to my home to try and steal food, and then my goat tries to drive them away. If he can't win the fight, he runs back into the house, calling me for help."
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat_fights_off_stray_dogs
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Spider-Goats go grazing on near-vertical dam
First Marvel Comics gave us Spider-Man, then the Simpsons gave us Spider-Pig, and now Italy has give us a new set of superheroes: the Spider-Goats.
OK, so it's not the Hoofer Dam, but these goats are taking risks of an extreme nature on the Cingino barrier in Northern Italy,
The group of Ibex goats clamber up the almost vertical 160ft-high wall to roll their tongues over the stones.
It is thought they enjoy the salt and minerals to be extracted from licking the rocks.
But one slip and they could be dead in a heart bleat.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/844131-spider-goats-go-grazing-on-near-vertical-dam
OK, so it's not the Hoofer Dam, but these goats are taking risks of an extreme nature on the Cingino barrier in Northern Italy,
The group of Ibex goats clamber up the almost vertical 160ft-high wall to roll their tongues over the stones.
It is thought they enjoy the salt and minerals to be extracted from licking the rocks.
But one slip and they could be dead in a heart bleat.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/844131-spider-goats-go-grazing-on-near-vertical-dam
Spider-Goats go grazing on near-vertical dam
First Marvel Comics gave us Spider-Man, then the Simpsons gave us Spider-Pig, and now Italy has give us a new set of superheroes: the Spider-Goats.
OK, so it's not the Hoofer Dam, but these goats are taking risks of an extreme nature on the Cingino barrier in Northern Italy,
The group of Ibex goats clamber up the almost vertical 160ft-high wall to roll their tongues over the stones.
It is thought they enjoy the salt and minerals to be extracted from licking the rocks.
But one slip and they could be dead in a heart bleat.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/844131-spider-goats-go-grazing-on-near-vertical-dam
OK, so it's not the Hoofer Dam, but these goats are taking risks of an extreme nature on the Cingino barrier in Northern Italy,
The group of Ibex goats clamber up the almost vertical 160ft-high wall to roll their tongues over the stones.
It is thought they enjoy the salt and minerals to be extracted from licking the rocks.
But one slip and they could be dead in a heart bleat.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/844131-spider-goats-go-grazing-on-near-vertical-dam
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Goats rescued from bridge after two days stranded on thin ledge
Two goats proved to be real silly billies when they got stranded for two days on the ledge of a bridge in Montana.
The poor bleeters were plucked to safety by a towering crane after going without food and drink for 48 hours.
They are thought to have wandered onto the railroad ledge in southern Montana at night, then froze once the sun rose and they realised where they were.
The two young females occasionally stepped to the pillar to urinate then returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds, an eye-witness said.
The goats are now said to be in a good condition.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/839883-goats-rescued-from-bridge-after-two-days-on-thin-ledge
They are thought to have wandered onto the railroad ledge in southern Montana at night, then froze once the sun rose and they realised where they were.
The two young females occasionally stepped to the pillar to urinate then returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds, an eye-witness said.
The goats are now said to be in a good condition.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/839883-goats-rescued-from-bridge-after-two-days-on-thin-ledge
Goats rescued from bridge after two days stranded on thin ledge
Two goats proved to be real silly billies when they got stranded for two days on the ledge of a bridge in Montana.
The poor bleeters were plucked to safety by a towering crane after going without food and drink for 48 hours.
They are thought to have wandered onto the railroad ledge in southern Montana at night, then froze once the sun rose and they realised where they were.
The two young females occasionally stepped to the pillar to urinate then returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds, an eye-witness said.
The goats are now said to be in a good condition.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/839883-goats-rescued-from-bridge-after-two-days-on-thin-ledge
They are thought to have wandered onto the railroad ledge in southern Montana at night, then froze once the sun rose and they realised where they were.
The two young females occasionally stepped to the pillar to urinate then returned to the narrower ledge, where they tried to rest their tired legs by tucking them under their bodies for a few seconds, an eye-witness said.
The goats are now said to be in a good condition.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/839883-goats-rescued-from-bridge-after-two-days-on-thin-ledge
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Angry goat chases builders
20 August 2010 16:30 GMT
A goat chased builders from a third floor flat in Germany.
The animal was in the building - which was being renovated - eating the curtains when workmen tried to stop him.
However the goat turned on the builders and chased them away, before police called a local farmer to capture him.
A police spokesman said: "We have no idea how that goat got up onto the third floor and entered the apartment. We also don't know who owns it - we have had no reports of a missing goat."
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/192979-angry-goat/
A goat chased builders from a third floor flat in Germany.
The animal was in the building - which was being renovated - eating the curtains when workmen tried to stop him.
However the goat turned on the builders and chased them away, before police called a local farmer to capture him.
A police spokesman said: "We have no idea how that goat got up onto the third floor and entered the apartment. We also don't know who owns it - we have had no reports of a missing goat."
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/192979-angry-goat/
Sunday, August 8, 2010
UNPLEASANT PUERTO RICAN GOAT STORY
In a scene conjuring images of “The Godfather,” a disemboweled goat was found dead Friday, a rope around its neck, on the front lawn of a controversial Rehoboth town official.The goat was first spotted about 5:30 a.m. by a neighbor walking by Chris Morra’s Summer Street home. About 90 minutes later, another neighbor also saw it and called him.“I’m not putting up with it. I’m not being intimidated,” Morra said yesterday. “It’s a shame they would harm an innocent animal.”--
full story:http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100808official_not_intimidated_by_goat_corpse_says_unhappy_residents_targeting_him/
full story:http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100808official_not_intimidated_by_goat_corpse_says_unhappy_residents_targeting_him/
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Human beings-turned goats story, a hoax -Police
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/july/07/national-07-07-2010-021.htm
Daily Sun [Nigeria] 7 July 2010
Human beings-turned goats story, a hoax -Police
By VINCENT UKPONG KALU and MATTHEW DIKE
Yesterday morning, rumours spread like bush fire in the harmattan in Ojo, and other neighbouring towns in Lagos and Ogun States that seven human beings were turned to goats through esoteric means . The rumour also had it that the goats were detained in Ojo Police station. A motley crowd besieged the police station to witness the bizarre development.
Daily Sun [Nigeria] 7 July 2010
Human beings-turned goats story, a hoax -Police
By VINCENT UKPONG KALU and MATTHEW DIKE
Yesterday morning, rumours spread like bush fire in the harmattan in Ojo, and other neighbouring towns in Lagos and Ogun States that seven human beings were turned to goats through esoteric means . The rumour also had it that the goats were detained in Ojo Police station. A motley crowd besieged the police station to witness the bizarre development.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
ND golf course brings in weed-eating goats
Jul 3, 9:41 PM EDT
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- A public golf course in North Dakota has taken a new approach to dealing with pesky weeds: goats.
Eric Stromstad, superintendent at Hawktree golf course north of Bismarck, says two goats were brought in at the start of the season to rid the 16th hole of leafy spurge and clover. It's worked out so well that three more goats were added.
Stromstad says the golfers have taken to the goats and feed and pet them.
Hawktree isn't the first course to employ goats. Stromstad says courses in Ireland, Ohio and Florida have been using them.
---
Information from: KFYR-TV, http://kfyrtv.com
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ODD_WEED_EATING_GOATS
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- A public golf course in North Dakota has taken a new approach to dealing with pesky weeds: goats.
Eric Stromstad, superintendent at Hawktree golf course north of Bismarck, says two goats were brought in at the start of the season to rid the 16th hole of leafy spurge and clover. It's worked out so well that three more goats were added.
Stromstad says the golfers have taken to the goats and feed and pet them.
Hawktree isn't the first course to employ goats. Stromstad says courses in Ireland, Ohio and Florida have been using them.
---
Information from: KFYR-TV, http://kfyrtv.com
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ODD_WEED_EATING_GOATS
Thursday, April 29, 2010
At last, it's monkey riding a goat walking on a tightrope
Tom Phillips - 29th April, 2010For all those of you who have been waiting ages for a decent picture of a tightrope-walking goat being ridden by a nervous monkey, today will be a good day.
For those of you who have not been tingling with anticipation at the faint hope of a tightrope-walking-goat-riding-monkey picture, we hope you'll get something.
The tightrope/goat/monkey incident occurred at a zoo in Fuzhou, in China's southeastern Fujian province.
A close examination of the picture suggests that the goat seems to be going about its tightrope walking duties with an air of calm equanimity, while the monkey is clearly rather less pleased about the whole affair, and quite probably wishes it wasn't chained to a goat being made to balance on a rope for the entertainment of a gawping public.
Goats, of course, have naturally good balance, and in Morocco can often be seen happily climbing trees. Monkeys, on the other hand, are not natural goat-jockeys.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/823916-at-last-its-monkey-riding-a-goat-walking-on-a-tightrope
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Goat goes on rampage
21 April 2010 16:30 GMT
A wild Australian goat put three people in hospital.
Billy - who escaped from his enclosure and wandered into The On Luck Chinese nursing home in Melbourne - became agitated when he was shooed away by a gardener so butted him, before attacking a 70-year-old man who had rushed to help.
Police were called to the scene by residents who were frightened of the seven-year-old rampaging creature, and managed to subdue it until the owner arrived.
The two men suffered suspected spinal injuries with cuts to their heads and elbows while another woman received treatment for a broken ankle, which happened when she ran for help.
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/171830-goat-goes-on-rampage/
A wild Australian goat put three people in hospital.
Billy - who escaped from his enclosure and wandered into The On Luck Chinese nursing home in Melbourne - became agitated when he was shooed away by a gardener so butted him, before attacking a 70-year-old man who had rushed to help.
Police were called to the scene by residents who were frightened of the seven-year-old rampaging creature, and managed to subdue it until the owner arrived.
The two men suffered suspected spinal injuries with cuts to their heads and elbows while another woman received treatment for a broken ankle, which happened when she ran for help.
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/171830-goat-goes-on-rampage/
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Dancing goat 'like a kid'
18 March 2010A dancing goat has become something of a local celebrity in a Chinese village.
Owner Zhao Huaiyun, of Gao'an village, Mianzhu, southwest China's Sichuan province, says his goat loves to dance.
He has been offered a small fortune for the eight-month-old animal but is refusing to sell it.
"It's like a kid, always following me everywhere I go," he said.
People were coming from all over the area to see it peform, Zhao added.
"Whenever it has a bit of free time, it will stand up and dance in a circle and even shake hands with visitors," he said.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Dancing_goat
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Pygmy goat arrives at Wildwood
Wildwood has had another pygmy goat arrive at the park.This will bring up the number of pygmy goats to three, they are part of the animal encounters section close to the childrens play area. Close encounters allows young visitors to the park, a chance to see pygmy goats, geese, unusual chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs. As well as providing hand reared animals for education and outreach work.
The new goat is pregnant and will give birth sometime during March.
"The pygmy goats have been very popular with our visitors" commented Alan Keeling, Deputy Head Keeper at Wildwood "they are very entertaining especially when they have mock fights and jump around the enclosure"
Pygmy goats are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 7820087.
Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.
Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782008.
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Pygmy Goat FactsA pygmy goat is a small breed of domestic goat. Although they produce a very large amount of milk for their size, and can be eaten, pygmy goats are not typically used for milk or meat, unlike larger dairy and meat goat breeds. Pygmy goats tend to be more robust and breed more continually throughout the year than either dairy or meat goats. They are also sometimes kept as pets in urban or suburban backyards, depending on local regulation of livestock ownership.
Like all goats, pygmy goats have stomachs with four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum. As browsers, goats are similar to deer and enjoy variety in their diet, including woody plants. The pygmy goat is quite hardy, an asset in a wide variety of settings, and can adapt to virtually all climates.
Females, called does or nannies, weigh about 23 to 34 kg (35 to 60lbs) and males, called bucks or billies, stand about 27 to 39 kg (40 to 80 lbs). Wither height ranges from 16 to 23 inches. Their colour can range from white carmel, medium carmel, dark carmel, dark (red) carmel, silver-light grey agouti, silly medium grey agouti, dark grey agouti, black with frosted points, solid black, and brown agouti. Also, the males are usually darker than the females.
Pygmy goats are precocious breeders, bearing one to four young every nine to twelve months after a five month gestation period. Does are usually bred for the first time at about twelve to eighteen months, although they may conceive as early as two months if care is not taken to separate them early from bucklings. Newborn kids will nurse almost immediately, begin eating grain and roughage within a week, and are weaned by three months of age.
Polyestrous sexual behaviour means they can cycle year-round as opposed to dairy breeds. If milking is a priority, a continuous supply of milk can be obtained by breeding two does alternately. Dairy breeds usually have problems maintaining a year-round milk supply due to their seasonal breeding nature.
Pygmy goats originated in the Cameroon Valley of West Africa. They were imported into the United States from European zoos in the 1950s for use in zoos as well as research animals. They were eventually acquired by private breeders and quickly gained popularity as pets and exhibition animals due to their good-natured personalities, friendliness and hardy constitution. Today you can find them as house pets and at petting zoos.
Pygmy goats are adaptable to virtually any climate so they do not need the comfort of warmth or coldness. They enjoy having items to jump on, for they are able to leap onto vehicles. They are also in need of a shed and open area accessible at all times. They also need a companion that doesn't necessarily have to be its own species. Pygmy goats should not be introduced to another species or they can be harmed by the other animal. Goats require fresh water at all times or they won't drink it. Pygmy goats are often affectionate if they are treated with respect, and they are still some of the most needy pets.
Friday, February 19, 2010
I'm not kidding – goats in Inverness!
FEATURES » A Country Diary Published: 18 February, 2010
THE last time I wrote about wild goats in the Highlands in this Country Diary was around five years ago, so it is interesting to see what has happened since then.
The subject came up because of a reader contacting me about goats around Inverness and whether there are or had been any on the Black Isle, just north of Inverness.
I have seen a number of tribes of wild goats around Inverness, including one on the Black Isle I regularly used to visit and photograph, as well as counting the number of billies, nannies and kids and noting the variation in colours.
Other tribes have been near Farr, Coignafearn, Inverfarigaig and Moy, all of which have had a chequered history to say the least. There were also reports, quite recently, of goats in Glen Strathfarrar but these I am told were the result of a release of domestic goats in one of the nearby straths.
To understand the distribution of goats in the Highlands in the last few decades is to go back into their history. Their heyday was undoubtedly in the middle of the 18th century when there were so many goats in the Highlands the numbers are hard to credit.
Some parishes had over 1,000 goats and hundreds were the norm for many years.
There is so much coverage in the media about cattle being driven south to the market that the droving of goats in the opposite direction, mainly from Ireland, is largely forgotten or overlooked.
These would have been sold and some moved right up to the north coasts of Caithness and Sutherland. The problem for the goat drovers was that the further north they went, the wilder the terrain. This meant the goats often wandered off and were never rounded up and so various tribes came into being.
This heyday ended with the clearances when many goats were killed, whilst many "escaped" into the surrounding hills.
Where people were allowed on the land after the clearances, and yes there were some, there were strict rules about how many horses and cows could be kept. One overlying "condition" was that no goats whatsover could be kept for a variety of reasons.
It has been a way of life that went forever as there was perhaps no more useful animal in the old days than goats. They supplied meat, milk, skins, horns etc and they did not need feeding as they could just forage, as those that are left manage today.
The next stages for the wild goats were in the two world wars when food was at a premium and goats were shot and in many cases whole tribes were shot out completely.
Local officers stationed nearby are reputed to have shot out the ones on Brin Cliff, south of Inverness.
On the Black Isle there was a tribe between Rosemarkie and Cromarty and they were shot out by Norwegian troops stationed in the district.
Kenneth Whitehead's book Wild goats of Britain and Ireland, published in 1972, states that these were not the only ones on the Black Isle, as there was another tribe in the Culbo area of the Forestry Commission ground, but they had gone.
This was the pattern with many areas taken over by the Forestry Commission as goats are just not compatible with trees, in fact even worse than deer if that is possible.
Now here is a mystery as the goats I watched on the Black Isle were based around the Munlochy Cliff. Where did they come from, as there seems to be no records of them? Did they move along from Rosemarkie cliffs whilst they were being shot or were they always there and just overlooked?
It would be very interesting to know, as they are one of the very few unrecorded tribes. They in turn have been shot and occasionally a domestic goat has been turned out with them.
If any reader knows the current status of them around Munlochy Cliff I would be grateful for any information. Email me on rvc@tesco.net or telephone 01809 521256 - any information will, if necessary, be kept confidential.
The present situation is grim to say the least and the numbers in the Highlands, particularly in the south east, are the lowest they have been for many years.
Tribes of wild goats, in recent years, have been shot out by a number of estates for various reasons. This includes the perceived, rather than real, threat they pose to red grouse by the ticks.
It is difficult to know where all this trend will end, if it does. What is needed is another book purely on wild or feral goats, as some people prefer to call them. As far as I am aware, apart from general books on mammals, such as the admirable classic 4th edition Handbook of Mammals of the British Isles, published in 2008, no up-to date monograph on wild goats has been written since Kenneth Whitehead's book, so one is long overdue.
* The event of the week, if that is the right word, is the realisation that it will not be too far away before the first frog's spawn is laid.
Despite the weather there have been a few tentative signs of spring. The earlier pussy willows - the dates depend on the species - are now glistening silver.
Tawny owls have been calling for some time and the "teachering" notes of the great tits are widespread. More on the first dates for frog's spawn next week, so keep your eyes and ears open.
http://www.highland-news.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/7041/I_m_not_kidding__96_goats_in_Inverness!.html
(Submitted by Lindsay Selby)
Monday, February 15, 2010
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