Fainting Goats

[Raja_Raja_Chola]

I watched this clip about fainting goats. These goats stiffen up and keel over whenever they’re startled. Apparently, it takes very, very little to startle them. The adults stiffen up, but they can stay upright, usually. The clip said the goats were native to North America. So, here are my questions:

1. Do these goats exist in the wild? If so, how is this trait either beneficial or non-detrimental? It seems like stiffening up and falling over, but only temporarily, would pretty much put an animal at the top of the snack menu.

2. If these don’t exist in the wild, why would anyone breed goats with this trait?

[Patty_O_Furniture]

These are called Myotonic Goats. Myotonia is a recessive trait that is retained because myotonic goats are prized for their meatiness.

But meat production isn’t the only reason these goats haven’t been bred out of existence. Behold, I give you the International Fainting Goat Association.

[Patty_O_Furniture]

There is a video clip of the “fainting” on this page.

[Blake]

@Raja Raja Chola

The clip said the goats were native to North America.

Then the clip was wrong. The breed originated in North America but goats as a species are native to central Asia and the Meditteranean.

Do these goats exist in the wild?

All domestic goats are the same species, and yes, they exist in the wild. This specific breed does not exist in the wild, nor does any other domestic breed of this or any other species. That’s why they are domestic breeds.

It seems like stiffening up and falling over, but only temporarily, would pretty much put an animal at the top of the snack menu.

That’s one of their strong points.

Shepherds often kept the goats in with their flocks as insurance in case of predator attacks. The theory went something like this- as wolves would come down from the hills to attack a flock of sheep, the goats would become startled and, as per the name of their breed, they would faint. The sheep would make a clean getaway, as the wolves would focus on the stunned goats rather than pursue the fleeing sheep.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jimknapp/goats.html

If these don’t exist in the wild, why would anyone breed goats with this trait?

The breed soon became popular throughout the region, thanks to three major factors: 1) they were less prone to climbing (and therefore escape), 2) they had a higher degree of muscularity than their non-fainting relatives (and thus would make a better dinner), and 3) high reproductive rates (typically two or more to a litter).

That’s the thing about domesticates, they don’t need to have a great innate survival ability so long as they have other desirable qualities.

[DrFidelius]

There is also the unquestionable entertainment value of the breed.

[Tuckerfan]

@DrFidelius

There is also the unquestionable entertainment value of the breed.

Yeah, if I ever get filthy rich, in addition to stocking my tropical island with half nekkid wimmins, classic cars, a space port, Chihuahuas the size of Rottweilers, and ostriches, I’m gonna have fainting goats. I figure it’ll be great fun to watch them keel over when all that other stuff sets 'em off. Hey, you have your fun your way, and I’ll have my fun mine!

[Little_Nemo]

Yeah, if I ever get filthy rich, in addition to stocking my tropical island with half nekkid wimmins, classic cars, a space port, Chihuahuas the size of Rottweilers, and ostriches, I’m gonna have fainting goats.

And monkeys. What’s the point of having an island, if you don’t have lots of monkeys on it?