The Goat

The wild, or bezonar goat, is a very interesting animal. Imagine a mammal; about three four tall, weighing about 100 pounds, standing straight with it's ears erect, and, being the most unusual characteristic of all, having a beard.

Goats were first tamed about 9,000 years ago. They are not an endangered species. Their body temperature varies from 102 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Their heart beats about 70 times per minute. So, really, they aren't very dissimilar from us. Their digestive system is more like that of a dog's. The goat has large amounts of amino and hydrochloric acids in it's stomach. There are large amounts of these acids because the goat needs them to digest all the coarse and jagged foods that it eats, such as branches, shrubs, or even jaggers. The walls of the stomach and the intestines are also very thick.

The adult males are called bucks, more commonly, billy goats. The females are called does. Pregnant females are given the name nanny goat. The children are called kids. Though both sexes have beards, the male's is about twice as long as the female's.

Bezonar goats are gregarious animals; which means they live in herds. These herds may contain up to 50 animals. Around the outer edges of a herd, there are "guards" which let the rest of the herd know if there is danger nearby. There are only two times in their life that they will stray away from the herd. The first time is when the males go away from the herd during mating season. And the second time is when the old buck leaves the herd and lives the rest of his life alone.

About five months after mating, the female usually gives birth to two or three young kids. The kids can walk hours after they are born, and they learn to run and gallop when they are about 10 months old.

Goats are vegetarians that normally eat greens, such as branches, sticks, or leaves. Though they sometimes eat whatever they can find, they have been rumored to eat scrap metal and garbage. Even though they sometimes eat garbage, their stomachs cannot digest metal.

Most types of goats prefer a harsh environment to live in. The bezonar goat lives in the mountainous regions of India and Pakistan. Most of them in that area, though, live in the Himalayas. Many different species of goats live throughout the world. There are even some that live in North America.

Goats belong to the family Biovra. They are members of this family of "hollow horned" mammals. Like sheep, bison, domestic cattle and the impala, to name a few. The bezonar goat's scientific name is Capraegarus, and the domestic goat's is Caprahircus.

This report is mainly about the bezonar goat, but I also wanted to include something about the domestic goat. The main type of domestic goat is the Angora. It is said that 9000 years ago, ancient people raised wild goats for their milk and clothing. Over a period of time, they evolved to the slightly smaller, short haired animal they are today. The reason for that is that they do not need all of the warm cashmere coat that they needed in the mountains. They did not need long horns for fighting anymore, either.

The goats' hooves are one of the most interesting things about it. The inner layer of hoof, or subunigus, acts as a cushion and absorbs a lot of shock. The outer layer, or unigus, wears away just as fast as it grows. The goat's hooves are composed of bone matter very similar to a human's teeth.

The goat is a very interesting animal, and though it seems like a bizarre thing to consider, it really is an exciting animal to learn about.