DOMESTIC GOAT*
Capra hircus Linnaeus 1758

Order Artiodactyla : Family Bovidae

*Introduced species

Goats may be found all over Texas, although they are most common in the Hill Country and southwestern parts of the state. Commercial goat ranching primarily involves the raising of Angora goats, from which the textile fiber mohair is obtained, and as much as 97% of the domestic mohair produced in the world is grown in Texas. Texas also is the single largest goat meat producer in the United States. The effects of goats, especially if grazed in large numbers that exceed the carrying capacity of the land, on native vegetation and wildlife are profound. They compete directly with deer and directly or indirectly with every form of wildlife that uses pasture vegetation either for food or shelter. Where they are used in ranching operations, it is best to control them through fencing and concentrating them on areas designed for pasture improvement.

The skull of a goat lacks the depressions in front of the eye sockets characteristic of sheep, and the horns are parallel and directed back instead of curved down and out, as in sheep.

 

From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.