Goat is an animal, belonging to family Bovidae the scientific name of it being

Capra aegagrus hircus which is a domesticated subspecies of the wild Capra

aegagrus. 45% of Goats population are mainly found in Asia the highest number
being in China, followed by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. They are a breed of
ruminants which falls in the category of the mammals and suborder Ruminantia
that also includes other cattle, sheep, antelope, deer, giraffe.

Goat Information
To understand goat animal, it is crucial to understand everything in detail. Let’s
begin by understanding goat starting from its scientific name, goat
Characteristics, goat habitat, classification of goat, goat anatomy, and health that
includes the goat body parts, and goat life cycle.

What is Goat?
Goat is a domesticated ruminant mammal that is a warm-blooded vertebrate
distinguishable by the presence of hair or fur of which the females secrete milk
for the nourishment of their young ones. Goats like many other ruminants are
also raised like cattle. Cattle raised animals are farm animals which usually are
bred to serve the purpose of human needs for milk, meat, fur and hides. Hides
are nothing but goatskins that will later be made into leather products for clothes,
belt and shoes. And goat milk is also converted into cheese called goat cheese
which is enjoyed as a delicacy by many in many parts of the world. 

Goat herding is one of the most ancient traditions people practised to survive and
make a living as well. When the first developments of the farming appeared, the
farmers began herding wild goats of which their ancestor was wild bezoar ibex of
the Zagros Mountains based on the archaeological evidence confirming the most
recent genetic study. The farmers then herd the goats for milk, meat and dung as
fuel and bone were used for clothing, and tools building. 

What is the Scientific Name of Goat?

The scientific name of any species is a formal way of naming in the binomial
nomenclature. Wherein they have names, the 1st name being the genus that
identifies the family to which it belongs and the 2nd part is species that identifies
the specificity within that family. They also have a subspecies for some category. 

The scientific name of a goat is Capra aegagrus hircus which is a domesticated

identification subspecies of the wild Capra aegagrus. The genus is Capra and
aegagrus is the species, and hircus name is to identify the domestic goats or
those that are raised like cattle.

According to the binomial nomenclature, the scientific name of the goat is Capra
aegagrus hircus. Hircus is the domesticated identification subspecies of the wild
Capra family. The genus name is Capra, and the species name is aegagrus.
Hircus subspecies identifies the domesticated goat.

Anatomy of Goat
The anatomy of Goat refers to the Goat Body Parts and their health. 

The Goat Life cycle is quite an interesting one, the kid that is the juvenile goat
starts walking within minutes after their birth, after a period of 3-4 months they no
longer rely on their birth giver for the food and feed themselves with masses of
grass and after 30 months they are biologically ready to carry children, the
gestation period is up to 150 days. The wild goat lifespan is similar to that of a
dog that is 9-12 years while a domesticated one's life expectancy is 15-18 years. 

In this section, we will learn about the body parts and the general health of a
goat.

The gestation period of a female goat is 15/ days. The young ones of a goat are
called “kids”. The kids are able to walk and run just minutes after their birth. They
rely on their mothers for only a few months, following which they are able to
graze and feed on grass and leaves. 
Goats have a life expectancy of 9-12 years much like that of dogs. Domesticated
goats live longer up to 15-18 years. Goats can have a range in terms of weight.
Lighter goats can weigh around 20-27 kg and heavier ones can weigh over 140
kg. 

Goats have two horns that are arched back. There have been cases where goats
with up to eight horns have been born due to some genetic disorder. Such goats
are called polycerate goats.

Goats have four chambers in their stomachs. When they eat grass, they don't
digest it right away, they store it in a chamber called “rumen”. Later at night, they
can bring back the stored grass to their mouths for chewing it properly. This is
called chewing the cud, a phenomenon that is observed in cows as well. This is
mainly due to the reason that grass has a high content of cellulose which is not
easy to digest. Therefore, it is not digested at first but stored and then chewed
later. The chewed matter goes to the other chambers of the stomach called
reticulum, omasum, and abomasum with the help of essential microbes present
in their stomachs.

Names Based on Anatomy

Goats also have varied names depending on their anatomy, that is the male ones
are called bucks or billies and the castrated male goats are called wethers and
the females are called does or nannies, whereas the young ones regardless of
the gender are called kids.

Females have udder that is an organ formed from the sum of 2 teats or
mammary glands in these ruminants whereas others have combinations of 4-8
teats.

Build and Weight

Unlike other ruminants, goats are lighter in build weighing differently with respect
to the specific breed, strains and bloodline. The goats on the higher side of the
scale can be over 140 kg, and on the lower end of the scale, they can weigh up
to 20-27 kg. 

Goat Horns
Goats naturally have horns 2 horns that are arched back. In genetically rare
cases goats tend to inherit more than 2 horns and such ones are called
polycerate goats and the number of horns possessed can be as high as 8. There
has not been any case of a successfully bred polled goat that is a goat with no
horn.

Digestive Tract & Stomach

The upper incisors of goats are mostly reduced and sometimes even absent. And
like most ruminants have stomachs with 4 chambers and they tend to eat quickly,
by storing grass in the first chamber, the rumen, where it softens. They later
regurgitate, and that matter is called cud. The chewed cud contains cellulose
which is difficult to digest in the 1st chamber so it goes directly to the other
chambers of the stomach namely reticulum, omasum, and abomasum, for further
digestion with the aid of other essential microorganisms that reside in the
stomach.

Eyes and Hair

they have horizontal pupils and are usually pale that distinguish them from other
ruminants who have darker ones. The goat possesses straight hair, and both the
sexes have beards.

Classification of Goat, Habitat, and its Characteristics

Goats have horizontal pupils and beards, their hair is mostly darker in shade.
There are different kinds of goat breeds which can be classified as:
 Boer Goat
Originally bred in the 1900s in South Africa, these goats have a lighter
shade of fur, are raised and live in high elevation areas. They are bred for
their meat.
 Angora Goat
These breeds of goat have smaller bodies and live in semi-arid regions like
New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and North America. They
are bred for their fur which is used for making wool.

 Cashmere Goat
These goats are small in size and have small horns, and are found in
colder regions like Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and some regions in Kashmir,
from which it derived its name. These goats are also bred for a special kind
of wool called Cashmere wool and are also good for milk production and
their meat.

 Oberhasli Goat
These goats are found in the Switzerland and Alpine regions and are
characterized by Chamoisee colour of skin with black forehead, belly and
lower limb. They are bred for milk and wool.

 LaMancha Goat
Found in America and bred for milk, these goats have distinct Gopher
ears.

 Saanen Goat
White-skinned, hornless found throughout Europe, these goats are also
bred for milk and wool.

 Nubian Goat
Found in hot regions, these are domesticated in Britain and are used for
dairy and meat.
  Toggenburg Goat
These goats are found in valleys and are a great resource of milk.
Goat Facts
The following are some fun Goat facts to remember that will help you learn more
about this species.
1. Goats are one of the first wilds who were tamed by humans for herding
and has been an ancient tradition since.
2. The most consumed meat per capita in the world is goat meat.
3. The goats chew in a rotary motion because their upper jaw is wider than
the lower jaw.
4. Goats thrive in herds and are not loners, they tend to be depressed when
left alone.
5. The juveniles or baby goats which are called kids start walking within
minutes after birth.
6. They use their lips to grab their food to bring to their mouth. 
7. Goats have very sensitive lips, and contrary to popular belief they are very
picky eaters.
8. There are mainly 2 types of Goats,  mountain goats and domesticated
goats, and according to the Smithsonian Institution, there are 200 breeds
of domestic goats.
9. Mountain goats are the wild ones who are also great climbers and being
mountain animals they can easily climb high to the dams or the trees.
10. Goats are smart and curious animals who tend to investigate
anything that catches their attention. They are constantly exploring,
especially the wild or mountain goats.

Goat is a common domesticated animal that falls under the category of

mammals. Goats are very commonly found in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
They belong to the family of Bovidae and suborder Ruminantia which include
other domestic cattle like sheep, and other animals like antelope, giraffe, etc.
Goat is a warm-blooded vertebrate that has fur on its body and the females
secrete milk. Goats are raised like cattle for different purposes. Meat, hide skin,
milk and fur are collected from goats that are used in different ways. Meat is
directly used for consumption in Asia, hide skin is used in the tannery, milk from
goats not only provides nourishment to their young ones but also for processing it
into cheese. Goat herding is an ancient practice that helped people survive and
make a living out of it as well.