African Pygmy Goat

These adorable animals are great favourites at any zoo, particularly with the children as they are very friendly. They are extremely lively and love to climb on anything which gives them a better view, including small trees, bales of hay or straw or large rocks. In the wild, this allows them to avoid or spot predators, such as big cats or jackals, and to reach more leaves to eat. 

Their daily diet at Blackpool Zoo includes specially formulated goat mix and carrots, although they have a reputation for eating anything at all. This probably originated from goats “tasting” items to see if they are, in fact, edible. They are browsers not grazers, preferring shrubs and leaves to grass.

Goats can produce up to 4 babies, known as kids, at any one time. Goats’ milk is part of the staple diet in many parts of the world, but is an excellent alternative to cows’ milk for anyone suffering from allergies. Goat’s butter is white because their milk contains yellow beta-carotene converted into a colourless form of vitamin A.