Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found: A Book of Zoology for BoysReid, Mayne
Science
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found: A Book of Zoology for Boys
Reid, Mayne
Mammals
The Angora goat is another noted variety--esteemed for its fine silky
hair. It inhabits the countries of Angora and Beibazar, in Asiatic
Turkey, where it is kept in large flocks, the goatherds bestowing much
care upon the animals--frequently combing and washing them!
The Syrian goat, remarkable for its excessively long ears, is reared in
Aleppo and other parts of Asiatic Turkey, and is kept for the use of its
milk, with which many of the towns are supplied.
There are other varieties less noted, among which may be mentioned the
Spanish goats, without horns; the Juda, or African goat, with two hairy
wattles under the chin; and the pretty little Whidaw goat--also a small
African variety. There is also a Nepaul goat, and one belonging to the
Deccan, called Bukee--a very large gaunt fellow, with long shaggy hair.
The Irish goat, too, is a peculiar variety of the common or domestic
species.
Tame goats are distributed very generally over all the Old World. They
thrive well in the cold climate of Norway; and are equally at home in
the hottest parts of Africa and the Indian islands. In America they are
rare, in the territory inhabited by the Anglo-Saxon races--it not being
considered a valuable speculation to "raise" them; but throughout the
Spanish territories, both in North and South America, large flocks may
be seen, and the wild goats of Juan Fernandez are descendants of these
Spanish-American domesticated breeds.
The species of true _wild goats_ are not numerous, but are very
generally distributed over the world--particularly over the old
continents. In America only one wild species is indigenous: that is,
the Rocky Mountain goat. Some authors have asserted that this species
is not indigenous to America; but most certainly this statement is an
error. From its peculiar appearance, as well as from the locality in
which it is found, it could never have sprung from any known
domesticated breed. It is a long-haired creature, snow-white in colour,
and with very short straight horns. Its hair is of silky hue and
fineness, and hangs so low that the animal appears as if without legs.
Its skin makes one of the most beautiful of saddle covers; and for this
purpose it is used; but the animal itself being rare, and only found in
the most remote and inaccessible regions of the Rocky Mountains, a good
skin is as costly as it is valuable. It is met with in the great
central range, from Northern Mexico, as far north as the Rocky Mountains
extend; and it is supposed also to exist among the higher summits of the
Californian mountains.
The Ibex is another species of wild goat, somewhat celebrated. It is
the wild goat of the European Alps, where it is known by the Germans as
Stein-boc, and as Bouquetin among the French.
Another ibex belongs to the Caucasian Mountains, called Zebudor, or
Hach; and still another kind inhabits the Himalayas, where it passes
under the name of Sakeen. There is also an ibex in Siberia; and still
another in the Pyrenees.
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