Is there Feral goat in the states

Buzzkill · June 25, 2005, 12:40 PM

Hi all

I was just wondering does anyone hunt feral goat in the states or is there feral goat in the states, just never heard it mentioned on this forum.

Besides deer feral goat are the only other {big game} in Ireland .

Thanks
Bob

butch50 · June 25, 2005, 02:31 PM

I think I remember reading that feral goats may be a problem in some part of Hawaii, but I haven't run across any other references.

Odd though that they aren't all over the place when you think about it, lots of goat farms and they should be able to get loose enough to go feral, and here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though.

mete · June 25, 2005, 04:55 PM

Catalina island off CA .The Spanish put goats there so passing sailers could have fresh meat.I don't know if they are hunted.

racinstylez · June 25, 2005, 04:57 PM

never hunted goat before.

Mannlicher · June 25, 2005, 06:00 PM

you will run into some feral goats in SW Virginia, NC or Tennessee.

CarbineCaleb · June 25, 2005, 06:07 PM

mtnbkr · June 25, 2005, 09:11 PM

Quote:

you will run into some feral goats in SW Virginia, NC or Tennessee.

I've spent quite a bit of time in those areas and have never seen a feral goat. I hunt every fall in SW Virginia. I've biked the mountains of all three states. I've run into plenty bears, some bobcat, coyotes, and seen sign that might've been couger/mtn lion, and untold deer, but no goats.

Chris

Art Eatman · June 25, 2005, 10:04 PM

In south Brewster County in Texas, it's not uncommon for goats to get away from their keepers. However, they don't last long, as the mountain lions figure a goat is an easily-caught yummy-tasty...

, Art

sm · June 25, 2005, 11:04 PM

Used to be quite a few on Harry Hines Blvd in Dallas...don't 'spect much has changed over the years...

Capt. Charlie · June 25, 2005, 11:09 PM

I've seen a bunch here. They were old though. Saw 'em at the Senior's center. Hey, they were a wild bunch!

butch50 · June 26, 2005, 09:26 AM

On Harry Hines - ROFL

I saw some there the other day, they still roam free!

Long Path · June 26, 2005, 10:18 AM

Lewis & Clark ran across these a little over 2 centuries ago, and Meriweather Lewis, a naturalist trained by Thomas Jefferson, immediately correctly classified them as goats. For some odd reason, we've always incorrectly called 'em "antelope" -- Pronghorn Antelope, to be [im]precise. They range from west Texas to Nevada to Montana, and are not just feral-- they're wild.

Quote:

September 14, 1804 Killed a Buck Goat of this countrey, his eyes like a sheep- he is more like the Antilope or Gazella of Africa than any other species of Goat.

For all his correct identification of the taxonomy of the creature, Lewis fell into calling it an antelope himself pretty soon:

Quote:

September 17, 1804
Having for many days past confined myself to the boat, I determined to devote this day to amuse myself on shore with my gun and view the interior of the country lying between the river and the Corvus Creek. This senery already rich pleasing and beatiful was still farther hightened by immence herds of Buffaloe, deer Elk and Antelopes which we saw in every direction feeding on the hills and plains.

http://lewisandclarktrail.com/sectio...n/history1.htm

Dadgum, what a time to live...

mete · June 26, 2005, 11:35 AM

The scientific name is antelo-capra [antelope-goat ] because they couldn't decide which it was. It is in fact a distinct animal ,neither antelope or goat and should be referred to as American Pronghorn.

Greybeard · June 26, 2005, 10:04 PM

Quote: "here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though."

A buddy and I saw one last year while hog huntin' at Caddo National Grasslands (near Red River). It still had an ear tag, so was not too "feral". When we asked the park ranger about it, he said yea, there were at least 3 or 4 of 'em, one that just had a kid. And to leave 'em alone.

wyrdone · June 27, 2005, 10:08 PM

mtnbkr: There is a herd of 15-25 of wild goats that live along the New River. I see them all the time on a rock overlook near the New River Junction. However I am not sure if that is private land or National Forest.

Double Naught Spy · June 27, 2005, 11:22 PM

CarbineCaleb, the pic you posted was of a mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus. These are considered as natural and indigenous. Mountain goats are in the same family as domesticated (now feral) goats as are sheep, cattle, bison, etc. Feral most often refers to those animals that have become domesticated and that have then returned to the wild in some manner, often in places where they are not indigenous. For example, the domesticated pig common to farms here in the US are the species Sus scrofa. They are said to be feral when they have gotten loose and then returned to their pre-domestication behaviors in the wild. There are many examples such as feral dogs and cats, for example.

In relation to BuzzKill's query and mention of feral goats in Ireland, those goats were domesticated, taken to Ireland, and are now considered feral because of their return to the wild.

Quote:

Lewis & Clark ran across these a little over 2 centuries ago, and Meriweather Lewis, a naturalist trained by Thomas Jefferson, immediately correctly classified them as goats. For some odd reason, we've always incorrectly called 'em "antelope" -- Pronghorn Antelope, to be [im]precise. They range from west Texas to Nevada to Montana, and are not just feral-- they're wild.

Long Path, pronghorn antelope most definitely not goats. Lewis' identification was in error. You are correct in that they are not true antelope. Then again, pandas are not bears either. The name assigned to antelope pertains to resembling antelope, not being antelope, as with the pandas. Pandas are in the raccoon family (Procyonidae) and not the bear family (Ursidae). American Antelope are in the family Antelocapridae. True antelope are in the family Bovidae along with sheep, goats, cattle, bison, etc.

Pronghorn are unique and are the sole surviving member of an ancient family dating
back 20 million years. They are set apart from goats and other bovids quite readily as the Pronghorn is the only animal in the world with branched horns (not antlers)
and the only animal in the world to shed its horns, as if they were antlers.

Ord classified and scientifically described pronghorn in 1815.

Lewis may have been trained by Jefferson, but neither had the fossil record information to trace the evolutionary ancestry of the pronghorn and bovids to know if they belonged together or not.

mtnbkr · June 28, 2005, 05:54 AM

Quote:

mtnbkr: There is a herd of 15-25 of wild goats that live along the New River. I see them all the time on a rock overlook near the New River Junction. However I am not sure if that is private land or National Forest.

Cool. My parents and my wife's parents live in Roanoke. I've been spending time in the area for the past 15 years. This is the first I've heard of them (the goats

).

Chris

NRA4life · June 28, 2005, 01:17 PM

Someone mentioned it before, but there are feral goats in Hawaii, I know for sure they are on the Island of Kauai. And there is a hunting season for them. Trying to convince Mrs. HUNT4LIFE to go goat hunting whilst on Kauai turned out to be a wee bit of a stretch though. I believe most are in the Waimea Canyon area on the Southwest (dry side) part of the island.

See them here:

http://www.roddyscheer.com/feral_goats.html

They're kind of goony looking.

jonathon · June 28, 2005, 02:01 PM

Goat hunting sounds like fun if the goats are as dumb as the ones people own around here

STITCH · June 28, 2005, 02:39 PM

We have an island in the St.Johns river that is rightfuly named "Goat Island"
The story is that a family lived there on the island and they populated it with goats, well the army core of engineers decided to split the island in two so the river could be dreged for the building of the Dames Point Bridge. The family left but the goats stayed. There are quite a few of them still on the island. I dont know if they can be considered feral or not, but they are there.

claude783 · June 30, 2005, 09:43 PM

In all the time I have spent in the Mohave Desert, I have seen 4 desert big horn...since (they say) there are only 200 left in the desert they are protected. (and rightly so)

Buzzkill · July 2, 2005, 12:35 PM

Thanks for the posts guys .

I never knew there was so many diferen tspecies of wild goat .

The only wild goat in Ireland is goats who have escapen from farms

Thanks
Bob

GLK · July 13, 2005, 09:23 PM

It is post like this one and all the replies that make this site one of my favorites to visit. One can learn something new everyday if he or she keeps their eyes open. My apolgies for hijacking the thread a bit, and though I am not familiar with feral goats(until tonight) on the Hawaiian islands I have watched a show where the guide and client were actually hunting cattle/bison/buffalos????. These critters were wild and if I recall correctly the bulls were more than willing to attack you before you could attack them if given the chance. I am not joking either these things were bada$$es. For some reason I really thing these were some sort of feral cattle breed. Can anyone fill in the blanks (DoubleNaughtSpy) for me?

zeisloft · July 14, 2005, 12:50 PM

We hunt em in west TX. A friends family had a bunch get out 10 or so yrs ago, so did neighbors. Years of freedom and cross breeding but most retain breed characteristics. We mostly see Boar and Spanish but there is some Angora. They are extreemly whiley and a good challenge.
~z

NRA4life · July 14, 2005, 01:31 PM

GLK,

You are correct. If I remember, the wild cattle in Hawaii were brought there in the late 1700's by either Cook or Vancouver, don't remember which. They were gifts for King Kamehameha. I too saw a hunting show on them one time, maybe 10 years ago. The beasts were enormous too.

June 25, 2005, 12:40 PM	#1
Buzzkill Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2005 Posts: 138	Is there Feral goat in the states Hi all I was just wondering does anyone hunt feral goat in the states or is there feral goat in the states, just never heard it mentioned on this forum. Besides deer feral goat are the only other {big game} in Ireland . Thanks Bob

June 25, 2005, 02:31 PM	#2
butch50 Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 1,403	I think I remember reading that feral goats may be a problem in some part of Hawaii, but I haven't run across any other references. Odd though that they aren't all over the place when you think about it, lots of goat farms and they should be able to get loose enough to go feral, and here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though. __________________ ‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’ ~ Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", page 446 ‘‘The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.’’ ~ Patrick Henry

June 25, 2005, 04:57 PM	#4
racinstylez Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2005 Posts: 240	never hunted goat before. __________________ Sigmund Freud: "A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."

June 25, 2005, 06:00 PM	#5
Mannlicher Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2001 Location: North Central Florida & Miami Posts: 3,209	you will run into some feral goats in SW Virginia, NC or Tennessee. __________________ Nemo Me Impune Lacesset "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.".........Ronald Reagan

June 25, 2005, 11:04 PM	#9
sm Senior Member Join Date: February 5, 2002 Posts: 1,819	Used to be quite a few on Harry Hines Blvd in Dallas...don't 'spect much has changed over the years... __________________ Use Enough Gun TFL Alumni

June 25, 2005, 04:55 PM	#3
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Catalina island off CA .The Spanish put goats there so passing sailers could have fresh meat.I don't know if they are hunted.

June 25, 2005, 06:07 PM	#6
CarbineCaleb Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2004 Posts: 2,745

June 25, 2005, 10:04 PM	#8
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	In south Brewster County in Texas, it's not uncommon for goats to get away from their keepers. However, they don't last long, as the mountain lions figure a goat is an easily-caught yummy-tasty... , Art

June 25, 2005, 11:09 PM	#10
Capt. Charlie Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: Steubenville, OH Posts: 4,446	I've seen a bunch here. They were old though. Saw 'em at the Senior's center. Hey, they were a wild bunch! __________________ TFL Members are ambassadors to the world for firearm owners. What kind of ambassador does *your* post make *you?* I train in earnest, to do the things that I pray in earnest, I'll never have to do. --Capt. Charlie

June 26, 2005, 09:26 AM	#11
butch50 Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 1,403	On Harry Hines - ROFL I saw some there the other day, they still roam free! __________________ ‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’ ~ Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", page 446 ‘‘The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun.’’ ~ Patrick Henry

June 26, 2005, 11:35 AM	#13
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	The scientific name is antelo-capra [antelope-goat ] because they couldn't decide which it was. It is in fact a distinct animal ,neither antelope or goat and should be referred to as American Pronghorn.

June 26, 2005, 10:04 PM	#14
Greybeard Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2002 Location: Denton County Texas Posts: 686	Quote: "here in Texas they would be able to live wild as easily as deer do. Never heard of or seen one, though." A buddy and I saw one last year while hog huntin' at Caddo National Grasslands (near Red River). It still had an ear tag, so was not too "feral". When we asked the park ranger about it, he said yea, there were at least 3 or 4 of 'em, one that just had a kid. And to leave 'em alone. __________________ www.dentoncountysports.com A Private Palace for Pistol Proficiency

June 27, 2005, 10:08 PM	#15
wyrdone Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2004 Location: Blacksburg, VA, USA Posts: 246	mtnbkr: There is a herd of 15-25 of wild goats that live along the New River. I see them all the time on a rock overlook near the New River Junction. However I am not sure if that is private land or National Forest. __________________ Current Collection Marlin Model 60 (my first gun) Ruger Mark-II .22LR Competition pistol (heavily modified) CZ-50 CVA Bobcat .50Cal Blackpower Mosin Nagant 91/30 (1942) Marlin 336 .30-30 Lever Action Yugo SKS 59/66 CZ-52 Bulgarian Makarov Swiss K-31 Rock Island 1911A1 Near Future (hopefully): M1 Garand CZ-75

June 28, 2005, 01:17 PM	#18
NRA4life Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: WA Posts: 183	Someone mentioned it before, but there are feral goats in Hawaii, I know for sure they are on the Island of Kauai. And there is a hunting season for them. Trying to convince Mrs. HUNT4LIFE to go goat hunting whilst on Kauai turned out to be a wee bit of a stretch though. I believe most are in the Waimea Canyon area on the Southwest (dry side) part of the island. See them here: http://www.roddyscheer.com/feral_goats.html They're kind of goony looking.

June 28, 2005, 02:01 PM	#19
jonathon Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2005 Location: Washougal, Washington. YEHAW! Posts: 1,872	Goat hunting sounds like fun if the goats are as dumb as the ones people own around here __________________ Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good More CZ M52 info than you can shake a stick at!

June 28, 2005, 02:39 PM	#20
STITCH Member Join Date: June 23, 2005 Location: Jacksonville Florida Posts: 76	We have an island in the St.Johns river that is rightfuly named "Goat Island" The story is that a family lived there on the island and they populated it with goats, well the army core of engineers decided to split the island in two so the river could be dreged for the building of the Dames Point Bridge. The family left but the goats stayed. There are quite a few of them still on the island. I dont know if they can be considered feral or not, but they are there. __________________ You can take my Pitbull when you can pry her leash from my cold dead hands!

June 30, 2005, 09:43 PM	#21
claude783 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2004 Location: people's republic of California Posts: 386	In all the time I have spent in the Mohave Desert, I have seen 4 desert big horn...since (they say) there are only 200 left in the desert they are protected. (and rightly so)

July 2, 2005, 12:35 PM	#22
Buzzkill Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2005 Posts: 138	Thanks for the posts guys . I never knew there was so many diferen tspecies of wild goat . The only wild goat in Ireland is goats who have escapen from farms Thanks Bob

July 13, 2005, 09:23 PM	#23
GLK Senior Member Join Date: June 22, 2000 Location: Brandon FL USA Posts: 527	It is post like this one and all the replies that make this site one of my favorites to visit. One can learn something new everyday if he or she keeps their eyes open. My apolgies for hijacking the thread a bit, and though I am not familiar with feral goats(until tonight) on the Hawaiian islands I have watched a show where the guide and client were actually hunting cattle/bison/buffalos????. These critters were wild and if I recall correctly the bulls were more than willing to attack you before you could attack them if given the chance. I am not joking either these things were bada$$es. For some reason I really thing these were some sort of feral cattle breed. Can anyone fill in the blanks (DoubleNaughtSpy) for me?

July 14, 2005, 12:50 PM	#24
zeisloft Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 2005 Location: Amarillo TX Posts: 419	We hunt em in west TX. A friends family had a bunch get out 10 or so yrs ago, so did neighbors. Years of freedom and cross breeding but most retain breed characteristics. We mostly see Boar and Spanish but there is some Angora. They are extreemly whiley and a good challenge. ~z

July 14, 2005, 01:31 PM	#25
NRA4life Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2001 Location: WA Posts: 183	Wild Cattle GLK, You are correct. If I remember, the wild cattle in Hawaii were brought there in the late 1700's by either Cook or Vancouver, don't remember which. They were gifts for King Kamehameha. I too saw a hunting show on them one time, maybe 10 years ago. The beasts were enormous too.