In December, 1982, the Smithsonian magazine gave a well-written tribute, in the form of an article by Robert Wernick, to an animal that may well be Man's oldest friend, yet one that is much-maligned, even despised, in some areas of the world today, including many parts of this country. The goat--an attractive, affectionate and very useful small ruminant--has rendered 'uncomplaining service to mankind for many thousands of years' in Mr. Wernick's words. Dairy goats have passed a peak in popularity in America, and indications are that this decade-long spate of enthusiasm is starting to wane. Angora goats, which produce mohair, remain big business, particularly in the Edwards Plateau area of Texas. However, the range and intensity of opinions and feelings about goats remains a source of astonishment. In America, goats can be roughly divided into four camps: (1) the Angora (and now including Cashmere) goats, whose owners view them as a business proposition and as producing units; (2) the dairy goats, whose owners are busily engaged at present in creating another class of pedigreed, registered, show animal, with milk production a more secondary factor--a circumstance due in part to many states' restrictions on the promotion and sale of raw milk; (3) the miniature (African Pygmy and Nigerian Dwarf) goats, which make very intelligent, responsive and affectionate pets, and (4) the great unsung world of the 'scrub,' 'brush' 'common,' or 'woods' goats--(the nomenclature depending on the locale)--the folk who keep goats of no particular ancestral distinction to clear land, as meat animals, and/or because they just like having them around. Curiously, though all these groups are dealing with breed variants of the same animal, there is for the most part very little communication between the groups; in some cases, actual antagonism. Couple this with the generally poor PR that has been the lot of the American goat from the founding of this country, and it is little wonder that the goat is often depicted as a tin-can-eating, destructive animal fit only for the veriest backwaters of civilization.

It was not always so; indeed, goats supply milk and meat to a larger percentage of the world's population than do all other farm animals combined. Man's involvement with goats over countless millenia has, as with other types of livestock, resulted in the evolution of a great variety of goat breeds worldwide. Just as many breeds of other livestock are in danger of becoming extinct, so it is with goats, many breeds of which have lost their original habitats and/or spheres of usefulness in the face of encroaching 20th-century technology and burgeoning populations. Many breeds today are falling victim to upgrading schemes; local goats in many third-world countries are being crossbred to 'improved' dairy breeds exported from England, Switzerland, France, Canada, Australia, and the U.S.A. The risk of losing many native breeds is very real, and yet even the basic taxonomy of the goat family is, to date, an issue widely debated. Goats and sheep are classified in the Family Bovidae, Subfamily Caprinae, Tribe Caprini; the Genus Capra is reserved for true goats. In his valuable work Lords of the Pinnacles: Wild Goats of the World, Raul Valdez recognizes the following species of wild goats:

Capra aegagrus - the Beozar goat or pasang

Capra ibex - the Ibexes, with 4 subspecies

Capra caucasica - the west Caucasian tur

Capra cylindricornis - the east Caucasian tur

Capra falconeri - the markhors, with 4 subspecies

Capra pyrenaica - the Spanish wild goats, with 3 subspecies

In his extremely useful and readable work Mountain Monarchs: Wild Sheep and Goats of the Himalaya, George Shaller, basically agreeing with Valdez' species list, notes the custom of classifying the domestic goat as Capra hircus, and discusses its still-unproven origins. Capra aegagrus is thought to be the ancestor of the domestic goat, though there remains the possibility that C. falconeri, cylindricornis and/or caucasica may have been included. Seven species are easy enough to commit to memory; but when we consider breeds worldwide, the task of making sense out of the nomenclature becomes herculean, and the number and variety is quite astonishing.

A lengthy book would hardly do the subject justice, and this is a bit beyond the scope of the animal magazines. However, as a point of departure for those interested in pursuing the subject, I append the following list of goat breeds. This is offered only as a check-list of breed names, with very brief commentary. Close scrutiny may reveal that some of these names may overlap. Since the list has been taken from a number of sources, including the first work devoted solely to goats, La Chevre by M. Joseph Crepin (Paris, 1903) breeds may be included that have already been lost. Additions and/or additional information would be welcomed.

In this country the following goat breeds are extant:

(1) The mohair goats--represented by the Angora and Cashmere goats., and novelty crosses including the Pygora, and Nigora,

(2) The dairy goats--Alpines, LaManchas, Nubians, Oberhasli, Saanens, Sables, British Toggenburgs and Toggenburgs.

(3) The novelty goats--the African Pygmy, Nigerian Dwarf, and the Fainting goat or 'Tennessee Wooden-leg.' Crosses to create new breeds exist, such as the Kinder goat, and the Dwarf Alpine. Also, Ibexes, Ibex crosses, Tur, and Markhors are to be found in zoos and on game farms.

(4) The meat and brush goats--the native woods goat, the recently-imported Boer goat, and the Spanish goat.

In addition, a number of other crosses have been tried, even a patented breed, the 'NuAlpine.' Most such crosses are the work of single or a few breeders, and they have not been given separate breed names. Such is the case abroad also; though a number of goat breeds owe their origins to deliberate and long-continued crossing. Here is our check-list of goat breeds of the world, as described in the literature to date:

Abkhasian North east Turkey

Abyssinian Nubian type; reddish-brown

Agrigento Sicily

Akyat Jaffa, Ceylon; of Burmese origin

Albanian two varieties; a large 'mountain' type, gray or brown, and a smaller 'plains' variety with corkscrew horns

Anatolian Black Turkey

Anglo-Nubian British; from a blend of the old English goat with the Zaraibi, Chitral and Jamna Pari; the ori gin of the Nubian goat of America

Angora Originated in Asia; now worldwide in distribution; produces mohair

Appenzell Switzerland; a 'white Toggenburg,' long-coated

Asmari Afghanistan. Bicolored; white face and body, black neck and shoulder; produces Cashmere

Assam Hill India; usually white, long-haired

Auvergne France

Azerbaijan Armenia; also called Caucasian, Dagestan, Karachev and Mingrelian

Baguirmi An intermediate type between the West African Dwarf (Pygmy) and the West African Long- Legged

Bahu Congo

Baladi Egypt; small, lop-eared, usually black

Balkan Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania; long-haired dairy and meat breed. Three varieties include the Valch, and the Capore (with corkscrew horns)

Baluchi India; usually black

Banat White Romania; dairy breed

Barbari Pakistan; small, short-haired, variable colors; a dairy breed

Bari India; usually white; dual-purpose (meat and milk)

Beetal India; similar to Jamna Pari. Red or tan, usually spotted

Belgian White Dairy breed produced with Saanen crosses

Benadir Africa; red or black spotted, short coated. Three local varieties: Bimal, Garre and Tuni

Berari India; black, dual-purpose breed

Berber Africa

Berry-Touraine France; possibly a variant of the French Alpine

Bhuj Brazil; dairy breed

Bhungri Bombay, India; meat breed

Bikaneri India; black or pied breed used for meat, milk and hair

Black Bengal India. There is a variety known as the Brown Bengal; small goats bred for meat and leather.

Blanca Andaluza Spain; white dairy and meat breed

Blanca Celtiberica Spain; white dual-purpose breed

Boer South Africa

Bornu White a Nigerian breed

British Alpine England

British Saanen England; from the Swiss Saanen and the native British goat

British Toggenburg England; from the Swiss Toggenburg and the native British goat

Bulgarian White a dairy breed

Campine Belgium

Camosciata delle Alpi Italy; dairy breed

Canaria Spain; multi-colored dual-purpose breed

Caninde Brazil

Capore A variety of Albanian with corkscrew horns

Carpathian Southeast Europe. Various colors

Chamoisee Switzerland; also called Schwarzenburg-Guggisberg or Guggisberger

Changra Nepal; the true Cashmere goat originally from Tibet

Chapper Pakistan; usually black, meat breed

Charkissar Russia; a mohair breed, gray, brown or black

Charnequeira Portugal; a red-brown meat breed. Two varieties: Raiana and Algarvia

Cashmere China and Mongolia; usually white

Chigu India; similar to but smaller than the Gaddi; a hair, milk & meat goat

Chitral India

Chungwei China and Mongolia; a breed producing pashmina (Cashmere.) Also valuable for the kid pelts

Corsican France; long-haired dairy breed, found in all colors

Crimean Russia

Criollo Spain

Curaca Brazil

Cutchi West India; a black dairy breed

Daira Din Panah Pakistan; long black hair. Used for milk, meat, skins and hair

Damani Pakistan; a black milk and meat breed

Damara Africa; also called Aerero; lop-eared short-coated breed, usually white, occasionally red and white or brown and white

Damascus Syria; a gray, red or brown dairy breed, long-coated. Also called Shami

Deccani India; usually black; dairy breed

Dole Norway; a blue pied or brown dairy breed

Don Russia

Fawn German Improved Germany; several variants exist, inc. Franconian, Black Forest, Harz, Thuringian

French Alpine France, U.S.A. Color variants are individually named, i.e. Sundgau

French Saanen France; dairy breed

Gaddi India and Pakistan; long black hair; milk and hair producer

Galla Kenya; a white meat breed

Ganjam India; a black dual-purpose breed

Garganica Italy; dairy breed with long hair of a dark chestnut color

Girgentana Italy; dairy breed with corkscrew horns, long hair, usually white with brown spots

Golden Guernsey Isle of Guernsey; a golden-coated small dairy breed similar to the Toggenburg

Granada Spain; black dairy breed

Grisons Striped Swiss dairy breed

Gruyere Switzerland; a short-coated reddish-brown dairy breed, now extinct?

Gujarati Brazil; long black hair, long lop ears; meat, milk and hair breed

Hejazi Israel; long black hair

Himalayan mohair

Improved North Russian Russia; a Saanen/North Russian cross

Iraqi Iraq; lop-eared breed

Irish

Israeli Saanen

Italian Alpine

Jablu India

Jamna Pari India; dairy and meat breed with long pendulous ears; also called Etawah

Kaghani India; hair, milk and Cashmere; multi-colored

Kajli Pakistan; a large variable-colored meat and hair breed

Kambing Katjang Indonesia; black

Kamori India; a large, red, gray, brown or black triple-purpose breed

Kashmir Asia; the source of Cashmere, which see

Kazimierz S.E. Poland; a black dairy breed

Kel Asia; the common goat of the region, producing milk and meat. Black, gray

Khurasani Pakistan; a black goat producing pashmina

Kigezi Israel

Killis Turkey; cross of the Damascus with the Anatolian Black; dairy breed

Kirgiz Russia; triple-purpose breed, with several local variants

Korean Black

Korean White

Kurdi Persia; similar to the Angora

Kyasuwa Nigeria

LaMancha America; 'earless' dairy breed; in Mexico and Spain, short-eared

Lapland Dwarf Norway; a dairy breed, usually white, yellow or pied

Lehri India; also spelled Leri; a triple-purpose breed with long ears; a short-eared variant is known as the Labi

Libyan Libya; long hair, brown, black, gray and white; lop ears

Madagascar Nubian-type, with a short coat and lop-eared; a variant is smaller and has long hair

Ma or Mah China; a brown dairy and meat breed

Malabar India; black, brown, or white dairy breed

Malaguena Spain; a red dairy goat, also known as Malaga

Maltese Malta; small dairy breed, usually red or brown but other colors also

Mamber Middle East; an all-purpose breed with long pendulous ears. Also called Mambrine, or Syrian Mountain. Black, long-haired.

Manipuri India

Marota Brazil; short-haired yellowish-white leather-producing breed

Marungu Congo; a dairy and meat breed

Marwari India; black dairy breed

Massif Central An old name for a French goat of mixed origins

Ma T'ou China; white meat and milk breed

Mehsana India; black dairy and mohair breed

Meridional Brazil; white meat goat

Mingrelian Russia; dairy breed

Mishri Egypt; long-coated polled dairy breed

Moncayo Spain; a light-colored meat breed

Morghose Iran and Iraq; a pashmina-producing breed

Moxoto Brazil; light brown or fawn, bred for skins and meat

Mubende Africa

Murcian Spain; dairy breed, with two major variants; black, and bay or mahogany; also known as Murciana-Granadina

Mzabite Algeria; a Nubian-type dairy breed, red-colored

Negev Israel; dairy breed

Netherlands White also known as Dutch White Polled and Improved Dutch

Nguni Africa; various colors

Nigerian Dwarf An intermediate-sized variant of the West African Dwarf

Nilotic Sudan

Northern Hill Nepal; long black-coated; used for milk production and as pack animals

North Russian Russia; a usually white dairy goat

Norwegian Dairy breed; several varieties exist including the Nordland, Rogaland, Telemark (white) and Vestland

Nubian In Africa, a polled dairy breed with short coat, Roman nose and long legs; in America, the name of the British-bred Anglo-Nubian, and the most popular American dairy goat (in 1993)

Oberhasli In America, a bay and sometimes black breed; in France, the Alpine

Orenburg black

Osmamabad India; a usually black meat and dairy breed

Pafuri Mozambique; lop-eared

Pahari India

Pateri

Patnai India

Patna same as the Patnai? Used for the production of leather. Corkscrew horns

Pinzgau Austria; dairy breed

Poitevin France; dark brown to black dairy breed

Polish Improved Fawn same origin as the Fawn German Improved

Pyrenean France and Spain; a dark dairy breed

Raini Iran & Iraq; a dairy and fleece breed, with long white, black or yellow hair

Red Bosnian Yugoslavia; dairy breed

Red Sokoto Nigeria; bright mahogany red, short coat. Used for meat, also the skins are the major source of Morocco leather. Also called Maradi.

Retinta Extremena Spain; a red or bay dual-purpose breed

Rock Alpine U.S.A. originally a French Alpine variant, now extinct

Rogaland Norway; a dairy breed

Rove France; a short-haired spiral-horn breed, usually black or mahogany

Rovmit Russia; dairy breed

Saanen Switzerland, Europe, U.S.A. white dairy breed; also called Gessenay

Sahel West Africa; meat, milk and leather production

Saidi Egypt

St. Gallen Swiss mountain type, black with pale back stripe and feet; extinct

Salt Range India; black-and-white or black, dairy breed

Samar Syria

Sandomierz S.E. Poland; a pied dairy breed

Sarawak Indonesia; brown, black or white

Sardinian gray, white,chestnut or black pied

Schwarzhals see Valais Blackneck

Serra da Estrela Portugal; a dairy breed, black, brown, gray or reddish

Sharkawi Egypt

Sind Desi Pakistan; a black meat and milk breed

Sinhal Nepal; produces milk and hair; long white, cream or bicolor hair

Sirli India; meat and mohair breed

Sirohi India; white or brown dairy breed

Somali East Africa; small, short-haired, white breed used for meat and leather

Somali Arab East Africa; small dairy breed

South China Dwarf China; small black meat breed

Spanish Mountain meat breed

Sudanese Desert North Sudan; a short-haired dairy breed with pendulous ears

Sudanese Dwarf Southern Sudan; a non-achondroplastic dwarf goat

Surat India; a white lop-eared dairy breed

Surti Nepal; dairy breed

Swedish Landrace dairy breed

Swiss Alpine U.S.A.; a now-extinct Alpine variant

Syrian long-haired, often black all-purpose breed

Tarai Nepal; small goat with semi-pendulous ears

Telemark see Norwegian White

Telingana India

Thori India; usually bay, dairy and meat breed

Thuringian Germany; variant of Fawn German Improved; also known as German

Tibetan Mohair

Tibetan Dwarf a dairy breed

Toggenburg Switzerland, Europe, U.S.A. Brown with white face stripes and feet

Touraine-Poitou-Berry France; black or brown dairy breed

Tuareg

Turkmen Russia; all-purpose breed

Valais Blackneck Switzerland; front half black, back half white; dairy and meat breed

Vatani Afghanistan; black, gray, white or brown; produces Cashmere. Also called Kabuli, Kandahari or Tajiki

Verata Spain

Verzasca Switzerland; black dairy breed

West African Dwarf Three variants have been identified; known in the USA as the Pygmy, Nigerian Dwarf and Toy; also known as Cameroon Dwarf and Fouta Djallon

West African Long-Legged Sudan, Sahel; similar to the Dwarf but larger, with longer horns, short-coated, usually white, brown or black

White Beared Bengal India; meat breed

White German Improved dairy breed, polled

Zalawadi India; black all-purpose breed

Zaraibi Egypt; polled dairy breed, now rare, possibly extinct

If the list was extended to include local names, it would be much longer! It goes without saying that the same rationales that apply to the preservation of rare breeds of other types of livestock apply also to goats. Some of these breeds have been studied intensively in their native countries, and many possess qualities that certainly merit preservation. With the possibility of international shipment of frozen embryos in the near future, the importation and establishment of more breeds in this country could become a reality; and the splashy, showy Schwartzhals, the lovely Golden Gurensey and Murciana, the striking Girgentana, the docile, hardy Mambrine and Appenzeller, and many others, could grace American barns and pastures and--who can now say--contribute to the improvement of American goats.

The writer has been collecting anything he could locate in print on goats, toward the building of, hopefully, the definitive library and bibliography on Man's oldest friend. He would welcome correspondence with anyone interested in goat literature, and/or who may know of sources of old goat periodicals, research papers, books, articles, etc. as well as anyone who may have additions, corrections, and/or supplemental information to the goat breeds check-list. Write to Robert Johnson, Pine Cone Valley Farm, P. O. Box 309, Chickamauga, Georgia 30707. (706 375-4326) email: oldgoat@voyageronline.net.