Capra (genus)

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This article is about the Capra genus of animals and the Goat species. For other uses, see Capra, or Goat (disambiguation).
Capra
Female ibex
Female ibex
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Capra
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See Species and subspecies

The genus Capra is a genus of mammals composed of nine species, including the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat.

The animal commonly known as the domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a domesticated subspecies of the Wild Goat. All members of the Capra genus are bovids (members of the family Bovidae) and caprins or goat antelopes (subfamily Caprinae). They are also ruminants, meaning they chew cud. These animals have a four-chambered stomach which plays a vital role in digesting, regurgitating and re-digesting their food.

A male goat is called a buck or billy, and a female is called a doe or nanny. Young goats are called kids.

The Rocky Mountain Goat, despite its name, is not considered a true goat by scientists as it belongs to the genus Oreamnos.

Contents

[edit] Species and subspecies

Male Nubian ibex
Male Nubian ibex

All species of the genus were included in just a single species formerly. Today usually seven to nine species are accepted:

Almost all wild goat species are allopatric, only the range of the wild goat (Capra aegagrus) overlaps with that of the East Caucasian Tur (Capra cylindricornis) and the range of the Markhor (Capra falconeri) overlaps with the Siberian ibex (Capra siberica). In both cases they form usually no hydrids or intermediate forms. In captivity however all Capra species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.[1]

[edit] Species and subspecies of goats

Capra aegagrus hircus domestic goat
Capra caucasica dinniki West Caucasian tur
Capra caucasica caucasica Mid-Caucasian tur
Capra cylindricornis East Caucasian tur
Capra falconeri markhor
Capra falconeri falconeri Astor markhor
Capra falconeri heptneri Bukharan markhor
Capra falconeri chiltanensis Chiltan markhor
Capra falconeri megaceros Kabul markhor
Capra falconeri jerdoni Suleman markhor
Capra falconeri cashmirensis Kashmir markhor
Capra aegagrus Wild Goat
Capra aegagrus aegagrus Bezoar ibex
Capra aegagrus creticus Kri-kri ibex (Cretan goat, Agrimi, Cretan ibex)
Capra aegagrus blythi Sindh ibex
Capra aegagrus ssp Persian Desert ibex
Capra sibirica Siberian ibex
Capra sibirica alaiana Mid-Asian ibex
Capra sibirica himalayanus Himalayan ibex
Capra sibirica sibirica Altay ibex
Capra sibirica hagenbecki Gobi ibex
Capra pyrenaica Spanish ibex
Capra pyrenaica victoriae Gredos ibex
Capra pyrenaica hispanica Becite ibex, also Ronda ibex and Southeastern Spanish ibex
Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica Pyrenean ibex†
Capra pyrenaica lusitanica Portuguese ibex†
Capra walie Walia ibex
Capra ibex Alpine ibex
Capra nubiana Nubian ibex

[edit] Domestication and uses

Main article: Domestic goat
Young goat at a British zoo
Young goat at a British zoo
Goats used for natural weed control
Goats used for natural weed control

Along with sheep, goats were among the first domesticated animals, the domestication process starting at least 10,000 years ago. Goats may have first been domesticated in what is now northern Iran. Easy human access to goat hair, meat, and milk were the primary motivations. Goat skins were popularly used until the Middle Ages for water and wine bottles when traveling and camping, and in certain regions as parchment for writing.

The meat and milk of goats is used for consumption, goat milk having become more popular in recent years because it is easier to digest than cow milk. Many call goat milk a universal milk, because it can be given to most mammals. It is used to make a variety of dairy products. The cheeses are known collectively as chevre; examples include Rocamadour and feta. Goat meat intended for consumption is also known as 'chevon'. Goat skin is used to make kid gloves and other items of clothing. Fibre is obtained from several breeds: Angora goats produce silk-like mohair, Kashmir goats produce cashmere wool, while Pygora goats produce a cashmere-type fiber. All are fine soft fibers that can be knitted into sweaters and other items. Some people keep goats as pets as well.

Herds of goats can be used as a holistic weed control tool. The city of Boulder, Colorado experimented in 2005 by using herds of goats to diffuse knapweed and Canada thistle.[1] Goats are also used to clear brush including poison oak in the hills on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California as a fire mitigation measure.

[edit] Similarity to sheep

Though closely related to sheep, to the point of causing occasional taxonomic confusion, goat behaviour is quite different. Sheep are primarily roaming grazers which travel in herds (also known as flocks), while goats are browsers like deer, eating branches and twigs, and tend to be more territorial. Like sheep, though, they have horns that continue to grow throughout their lifetime instead of antlers that fall off once a year. Unlike sheep, both male and female goats grow horns, and both sexes can have beards. Goats are herd animals and survive better in a herd situation than alone. But they tend to be more aggressive with predators, and some sheep herders will run a few goats with the herd because after initially fleeing, the goats will stand up to a predator and possibly deter them, whereas sheep will continue to run. A herd typically has a Herd Queen, who leads the herd while browsing. They are also much more lively than sheep and their inquisitive nature makes them curious pets. Sheep and goats have the same horizontal slit pupil in their eyeballs. Sheep tails go down, which is why they are sometimes docked, whereas goat tails go up.

[edit] Behaviour

Goats climbing a hill to new feeding pastures
Goats climbing a hill to new feeding pastures

Goats are extremely curious and intelligent. They are easily housebroken, and trained to pull carts and walk on leads. Ches McCartney, nicknamed "the goat man", toured the United States for over three decades in a wagon pulled by a herd of pet goats. They are also known for escaping their pens. Goats will test fences, either intentially or simply because they are handy to climb on. If any of the fencing can be spread, pushed over or down, or otherwise be overcome, the goats will escape. Being very intelligent, once a weakness in the fence has been exploited, it will be repeated exploited until they determine it can no longer be overcome. Goats are very coordinated and can climb and hold their balance in the most precarious places. Goats are also widely known for their ability to climb trees, although the tree generally has to be on somewhat of an angle.

A common misconception is that goats will eat anything. This is not true at all; in reality they are fastidious eaters and will not even take a bite of something that has fallen onto the ground or that something else has had in its mouth. Goats prefer to graze on shrubbery and weeds for food. Goats graze more like deer than sheep, preferring woody shrubs rather than grasses. Mold in a goat's feed can make it sick and possibly kill it. Nightshade is also poisonous; wilted fruit tree leaves can also kill goats. Goats should not be fed grass with any signs of mold. Silage (corn stalks) is not good for goats, but haylage can be used if consumed immediately after opening. Alfalfa is their favorite hay, fescue the least palatable and least nutritious.

[edit] Goats in folklore and mythology

Since its inception, Christianity has associated Satan with imagery of goats (see Pan (mythology)). A common superstition in the Middle Ages was that goats whispered lewd sentences in the ears of the saints. The origin of this belief was probably the behavior of the buck in rut, the very epitome of lust. The common medieval depiction of the Devil was that of a goat like face with horns and small beard (a goatee). The Black Mass, a probably-mythological "Satanic mass," was said to involve a black goat, the form in which Satan supposedly manifested himself for worship.

The goat has had a lingering connection with Satanism and pagan religions, even into modern times. The pentagram, a symbol used by Satanism, is said to be shaped like a goat's head. The "Baphomet of Mendes" refers to a satanic goat-like figure from 19th century occultism.

According to Norse mythology, the god of thunder, Thor, has a chariot that is pulled by several goats. At night when he sets up camp, Thor will eat the meat of the goats, but take care that all bones remain whole. Then he wraps the remains up, and in the morning, the goats will always come back to life to pull the chariot. When a mortal who is invited to share the meal breaks one of the goats' legs to suck the marrow however, the animal's leg remain broken in the morning, and the mortal is forced to serve Thor as a servant to compensate for the damage.

The goat is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Each animal is associated with certain personality traits; those born in a year of the goat are predicted to be shy, introverted, creative, and perfectionist. See Sheep (zodiac).

Several mythological hybrid creatures are believed to consist of parts of the goat, including the Chimera .

The Capricorn sign in the Western zodiac is usually depicted as a goat with a fish's tail.

Fauns and satyrs are mythological creatures that are part goat and part human.

The mineral Bromine is named from the Greek word "Brόmos," which translates to "Stench of He-Goats."

[edit] References

  1. ^ V. G. Heptner: Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. I UNGULATES. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 9004088741

[edit] See also

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