Goat

The goat or domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a species of <a href="/facts/Caprinae/Bg660Alj">goat-antelope</a> that is mostly kept as <a href="/facts/Livestock/Quhv6GvP">livestock</a>. It was <a href="/facts/Domesticated/tWB5s52s">domesticated</a> from the <a href="/facts/Wild_goat/qQYpJy8a">wild goat</a> (C. aegagrus) of <a href="/facts/Southwest_Asia/xXM15vIz">Southwest Asia</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">Eastern Europe</a>. The goat is a member of the family <a href="/facts/Bovidae/pUVW36Nh">Bovidae</a>, meaning it is closely related to the <a href="/facts/Sheep/cjkJyI4f">sheep</a>. It was one of the first animals to be domesticated, in Iran around 10,000 years ago.
Goats have been used for <a href="/facts/Milk/wDJBUHvy">milk</a>, <a href="/facts/Goat_meat/08Ju9RP7">meat</a>, <a href="/facts/Animal_fur/4hVxpDQ0">wool</a>, and <a href="/facts/Animal_skin/4havlLzG">skins</a> across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into <a href="/facts/Goat_cheese/saBUcPst">cheese</a>. In 2022, there were more than 1.1 billion goats living in the world, of which 150 million were in India.
Goats feature in mythology, folklore, and religion in many parts of the world, including in the classical myth of <a href="/facts/Amalthea_(mythology)/gWejyLGX">Amalthea</a>, in <a href="/facts/Tanngrisnir_and_Tanngnj%25C3%25B3str/QWV4CM8E">the goats that pulled the chariot</a> of the Norse god <a href="/facts/Thor/Ww3MSrq6">Thor</a>, in the Scandinavian <a href="/facts/Yule_goat/vpNuwSLq">Yule goat</a>, and in Hinduism's goat-headed <a href="/facts/Daksha/vbw9r1Bm">Daksha</a>. In Christianity and Satanism, the devil is sometimes depicted as a goat.

Goat open-in-new

Goat