Elegance of goat horns epitomised by King Puck
GOATS are not native to Ireland. They were brought here as domesticated stock and were kept by farmers for their milk, meat, hair and skins. The wild ancestors of all domestic goats were animals native to southwest Asia and Eastern Europe.
Some goats escaped or were released from captivity and lived wild. These became known as wild goats or feral goats. While domesticated goats were bred for selected traits to suit farming, feral goats soon reverted to showing characteristics of their wild ancestors. However, repeated introductions of domesticated breeds into the wild stock resulted in wide variation.
Males are billies, females are nannies and young are kids. Both sexes are horned, but males tend to have larger and more impressive horns elegantly swept backwards like scimitars. Both sexes also have manes and beards but, again, these are more pronounced in older males.
King Puck is undoubtedly the epitome of elegant horns, a large mane and an impressive beard. In one of Ireland’s oldest fairs, a feral goat is captured, crowned and put on display during Puck Fair, held annually on the 10th, 11th and 12th of August in Killorglin, County Kerry. Afterwards, the goat is released back to his mountain home.
The roots of the fair are unknown but are said to have their origin in pagan Celtic practices possibly celebrating the festival of Lughnasa that symbolised the beginning of the harvest season. Otherwise, it is believed that the goat was a pagan fertility symbol.
The size of our feral goat population is unknown but is estimated to number probably less than 5000 individuals. The most notable herds are found in the Burren, Co Clare, Glendalough, Co Wicklow, Bray Head, Co Wicklow, Fair Head, Co Antrim and Killarney, Co Kerry. There are also herds on some islands notably Rathlin, Co Antrim, Great Blasket, Co Kerry, Valencia, Co Kerry, and Achill, Co Mayo.
Goats eat a wide range of wild plants, mosses, grasses, sedges, rushes and shrubs. In mountainous regions they graze on heathers and Bilberry. In coastal areas they will eat seaweed and in wooded areas they will eat the bark off trees.
The basic unit in wild goat society is a large group of related females let by a dominant nanny. Outside the breeding season, billies tend to hang around in small groups. As the autumn rut approaches, billies become aggressive towards each other, split up and they seek to join the females.