Go Meet a Goat

  I went to a Harvest festival this Fall and got to meet a group of adorable goats. There is something about goats! They are adorable, charming, and a bit bizarre. 

 What makes goats slightly strange are their eyes! They have rectangular pupils instead of circles. Animals that have rectangular eyes are sheep, toads, octopuses and of course, goats! Rectangular pupils are helpful for prey animals. The longer pupil helps with peripheral depth perception which makes it easier to survey the surroundings. Goats, which are prey animals, can more easily spot predators in the distance with their square pupiled eyes. (1)

Goats are often demeaned in popular culture due to their supposed propensity to eat tin cans and other inedible pieces of garbage. But the goats that chew on these strange objects are just displaying curiosity, which in my opinion is a very admirable trait. The goats don't have hands to use when trying to figure out an object, so instead they use their mouths. Resourceful little fellows if you ask me! (2)

I have been in mountain goat territory before, but I have never seen one in real life. I'd love to see a majestic mountain goat. I can just imagine it!....I'd be walking on the top of a mountain, surrounded by beautiful wildflowers when from behind a tree, a beautiful mountain goat appears a belts a happy hello. Then, following close behind the goat, a Sasquatch would emerge, holding bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers. Just kidding, I'm being cheeky! Although, I'd love to see a Sasquatch too. One thing amazing about mountain goats is they are known to be able to jump up to 12 whole feet! I never think of goats as jumpers, but apparently goats should not be underestimated. (3)

When I was in college, I met these two hippy kids who had pet baby goats. They adopted the goats from a farmers market. The goats lived in their backyard in a pen full of hay. I think what happened was that their neighbors complained to the landlords that they kept hearing bleating and baaing from the yard. The hippy kids had to give up their goats but it was for the best because the goats got to go live a happy life out in the country. 

Sources:

1. Cox, Ashley. "The Evolution Of The Rectangular Eye." Science 2.0. Science 2.0, 21 Oct. 2008. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. .

2. "Goat Facts - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Goats | From Scratch Magazine." From Scratch Magazine. Scratch Magazine, 30 June 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. .

3. Bradford, By Alina. "Facts About Goats." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 21 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. .