Is there Feral goat in the states
- Thread starter Buzzkill
- Start date
I think I remember reading that feral goats may be a problem in some part of Hawaii, but I haven't run across any other references.
Odd though that they aren't all over the place when you think about it, lots of goat farms and they should be able to get loose enough to go feral, and here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though.
Odd though that they aren't all over the place when you think about it, lots of goat farms and they should be able to get loose enough to go feral, and here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though.
racinstylez
New member
never hunted goat before.
Mannlicher
New member
you will run into some feral goats in SW Virginia, NC or Tennessee.
CarbineCaleb
New member
I've spent quite a bit of time in those areas and have never seen a feral goat. I hunt every fall in SW Virginia. I've biked the mountains of all three states. I've run into plenty bears, some bobcat, coyotes, and seen sign that might've been couger/mtn lion, and untold deer, but no goats.
Chris
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
In south Brewster County in Texas, it's not uncommon for goats to get away from their keepers. However, they don't last long, as the mountain lions figure a goat is an easily-caught yummy-tasty...
, Art
, ArtCapt. Charlie
Moderator Emeritus
I've seen a bunch here. They were old though. Saw 'em at the Senior's center. Hey, they were a wild bunch! 
Lewis & Clark ran across these a little over 2 centuries ago, and Meriweather Lewis, a naturalist trained by Thomas Jefferson, immediately correctly classified them as goats. For some odd reason, we've always incorrectly called 'em "antelope" -- Pronghorn Antelope, to be [im]precise. They range from west Texas to Nevada to Montana, and are not just feral-- they're wild.
For all his correct identification of the taxonomy of the creature, Lewis fell into calling it an antelope himself pretty soon:
http://lewisandclarktrail.com/section2/sdcities/Chamberlain/history1.htm
Dadgum, what a time to live...
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Quote: "here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though."
A buddy and I saw one last year while hog huntin' at Caddo National Grasslands (near Red River). It still had an ear tag, so was not too "feral". When we asked the park ranger about it, he said yea, there were at least 3 or 4 of 'em, one that just had a kid. And to leave 'em alone.
A buddy and I saw one last year while hog huntin' at Caddo National Grasslands (near Red River). It still had an ear tag, so was not too "feral". When we asked the park ranger about it, he said yea, there were at least 3 or 4 of 'em, one that just had a kid. And to leave 'em alone.
Double Naught Spy
New member
CarbineCaleb, the pic you posted was of a mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus. These are considered as natural and indigenous. Mountain goats are in the same family as domesticated (now feral) goats as are sheep, cattle, bison, etc. Feral most often refers to those animals that have become domesticated and that have then returned to the wild in some manner, often in places where they are not indigenous. For example, the domesticated pig common to farms here in the US are the species Sus scrofa. They are said to be feral when they have gotten loose and then returned to their pre-domestication behaviors in the wild. There are many examples such as feral dogs and cats, for example.
In relation to BuzzKill's query and mention of feral goats in Ireland, those goats were domesticated, taken to Ireland, and are now considered feral because of their return to the wild.
Long Path, pronghorn antelope most definitely not goats. Lewis' identification was in error. You are correct in that they are not true antelope. Then again, pandas are not bears either. The name assigned to antelope pertains to resembling antelope, not being antelope, as with the pandas. Pandas are in the raccoon family (Procyonidae) and not the bear family (Ursidae). American Antelope are in the family Antelocapridae. True antelope are in the family Bovidae along with sheep, goats, cattle, bison, etc.
Pronghorn are unique and are the sole surviving member of an ancient family dating
back 20 million years. They are set apart from goats and other bovids quite readily as the Pronghorn is the only animal in the world with branched horns (not antlers)
and the only animal in the world to shed its horns, as if they were antlers.
Ord classified and scientifically described pronghorn in 1815.
Lewis may have been trained by Jefferson, but neither had the fossil record information to trace the evolutionary ancestry of the pronghorn and bovids to know if they belonged together or not.
In relation to BuzzKill's query and mention of feral goats in Ireland, those goats were domesticated, taken to Ireland, and are now considered feral because of their return to the wild.
Long Path, pronghorn antelope most definitely not goats. Lewis' identification was in error. You are correct in that they are not true antelope. Then again, pandas are not bears either. The name assigned to antelope pertains to resembling antelope, not being antelope, as with the pandas. Pandas are in the raccoon family (Procyonidae) and not the bear family (Ursidae). American Antelope are in the family Antelocapridae. True antelope are in the family Bovidae along with sheep, goats, cattle, bison, etc.
Pronghorn are unique and are the sole surviving member of an ancient family dating
back 20 million years. They are set apart from goats and other bovids quite readily as the Pronghorn is the only animal in the world with branched horns (not antlers)
and the only animal in the world to shed its horns, as if they were antlers.
Ord classified and scientifically described pronghorn in 1815.
Lewis may have been trained by Jefferson, but neither had the fossil record information to trace the evolutionary ancestry of the pronghorn and bovids to know if they belonged together or not.
Someone mentioned it before, but there are feral goats in Hawaii, I know for sure they are on the Island of Kauai. And there is a hunting season for them. Trying to convince Mrs. HUNT4LIFE to go goat hunting whilst on Kauai turned out to be a wee bit of a stretch though. I believe most are in the Waimea Canyon area on the Southwest (dry side) part of the island.
See them here:
http://www.roddyscheer.com/feral_goats.html
They're kind of goony looking.
See them here:
http://www.roddyscheer.com/feral_goats.html
They're kind of goony looking.
We have an island in the St.Johns river that is rightfuly named "Goat Island"
The story is that a family lived there on the island and they populated it with goats, well the army core of engineers decided to split the island in two so the river could be dreged for the building of the Dames Point Bridge. The family left but the goats stayed. There are quite a few of them still on the island. I dont know if they can be considered feral or not, but they are there.
The story is that a family lived there on the island and they populated it with goats, well the army core of engineers decided to split the island in two so the river could be dreged for the building of the Dames Point Bridge. The family left but the goats stayed. There are quite a few of them still on the island. I dont know if they can be considered feral or not, but they are there.