(Images via: Discover Magazine and Jim Knapp)
If you thought tree climbing goats were strange, meet the breed of goats that faints and falls over when spooked. Singularly and en masse these weird goats freeze for a number of seconds and generally fall over in the process. The goats have a significant fan following, are frequently used as pets and are even at the center of an annual fainting goat festival.
(Images via: OneMansBlog and Tidewater Farms)
As the story goes, fainting goats were actually handy for farmers to have around as decoys for the more valuable sheep. While the sheep would flee from predators the fainting goats would fall to the ground stunned and provide a much easier meal to wolfs or other attackers. Over time these goats have also been known as Scare, Nervous and Wooden Leg Goats.
Aside from their peculiar habit of fainting at the slightest scare, these goats have other benefits which have resulted in their continued breeding for over 100 years. Their litters are generally larger, they are less prone to climbing (for fairly obvious reasons) and therefore escaping and they have a higher portion of tasty meat. Of course, many people enjoy them simply for the novelty of their fainting behavior.
Finally, if fainting and tree-climbing goats weren’t enough … here is one that yells like a man.
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22 Comments
September 17th, 2008 at 9:40 am
If a goat falls in the forest and no one sees it, is it still hilarious?
December 12th, 2008 at 1:31 am
HAHAHAHA THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!! I’ve definitely heard of those before.
But the man-yelling goat is FRIGHTENING. It’s so scary it’s hilarious.
And I have most deifinitely NOT heard of those before.
December 13th, 2008 at 4:31 am
HAHAHAHA THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!! I’ve definitely heard of those before.
But the man-yelling goat is FRIGHTENINGkk;lk546
December 18th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
this is actually due to a neurological problem, it’s not that funny at all..
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:30 am
this is so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:21 am
Thats Amazing.I never heard this before. Please love animals they deserve.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 am
Thats superb.I never heard this before. Please love animals they deserve.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
dude are those the goats where there nees lock up?
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Thanks. I had heard of these fainting goats but never seen them. And the goat that yells like a man….freaky!
February 13th, 2009 at 5:28 am
You…BASTARDS!…..
February 13th, 2009 at 5:30 am
You Sick bastards….
February 14th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
lol those fainting goats r awsome. but the yelling goat was kinda…….bizarre
May 15th, 2009 at 7:47 am
there needs to be crazy looking animals….Bye
May 19th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Fainting goats are bred specifically for their nurological problem that causes their muscles to spasm when frightened. They are called several different names but in the goat and ranching world we call them Myotonic, Tennessee Fainting, Nervous, and Scare goats.
Its just a nervous system problem, it is completely hillarious but mainly its used for entertainment and for the protection of animals.
You can put them in with a flock or herd of non-faiting animals and when they get scared it gives the other animals more time to escape.
May 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Poor kids.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Да, похоже что в действительности – так оно и есть. P.S. Сайт, кстати, у вас прикольно сверстан
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:44 am
Dude thats funyy dumb ass goats!lol
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