Goat
| Goat | |
|---|---|
| Base Information | |
| Classification | Herbivore |
| Terrain | Mountains |
| Locomotion | Walker |
| Size | standard-large |
| Speed | Standard |
| Strength | Standard |
| Social Structure | Medium pack |
| Weapons | Horns |
| Armor | None |
| Body Structure | |
| Symmetry | bilateral |
| Head/Torso | Head with brain/senses |
| Limbs & Manipulators | 2 fore legs, 2 rear legs |
| Tail | 1 tail |
| Skeleton | Bony interior |
| Internal Fluids | Blood |
| Skin | Hair |
| Natural Weapons | Horns |
| Body Shape | |
| Size | standard-large |
| Stance | Horizontal |
| Length/Height | 1.0 meters |
| Body Profile | Typical |
| Weight | 20-140 kilograms |
| Details | |
| Edibility | Yes |
| Training Difficulty | Yes |
| Source | |
| Homeworld | Terra (Solomani Rim 1827) |
| Multi-world | Yes |
| Canon | Yes |
| Reference | |
The Goat is a creature lifeform that is not a sophont.
- This is a native of Terra
Description (Specifications)[edit]
The Goat is a herbivore native to Terra (Solomani Rim 1827) but has become endemic throughout space inhabited by (presently or historically) Humaniti and Vargr. It is closely related to Sheep.
Physiology & Ecology[edit]
Goats are ruminants. They have a four-chambered stomach. As with other mammal ruminants, they are even-toed ungulates. The females generally have an udder consisting of two teats, but some breeds may have up to eight teats.
Goats have horizontal, slit-shaped pupils to their eyes.
Both male and female goats have beards, and many types of goat may have wattles, one dangling from each side of the neck.
Most goats naturally have two horns, of various shapes and sizes depending on the breed. Some have multiple pairs of horns. Because the horns are so closely related to gender, Goats rarely have no horns.
Individual Goats are almost harmless, they may attack if their herd is threatened and herds may gang-up on small or inexperienced predators, but mostly these creatures will flee any and all unfamiliar creatures of larger size.
Life Cycle & Reproduction[edit]
Goats reach puberty between three and fifteen months of age, depending on breed and nutritional status. Many breeders prefer to postpone breeding until the doe has reached 70% of the adult weight. However, this separation is rarely possible in extensively managed, open-range herds.
Gestation length is approximately 150 days. Twins are the usual result, with single and triplet births also common. Birthing, known as kidding, generally occurs uneventfully. Just before kidding, the doe will have a sunken area around the tail and hip, as well as heavy breathing. She may have a worried look, become restless and display great affection for her keeper.
Freshening (coming into milk production) occurs at kidding. Milk production varies with the breed, age, quality, and diet of the doe. After the lactation, the doe will "dry off", typically after she has been bred. Occasionally, goats that have not been bred and are continuously milked will continue lactation beyond the typical 305 days. Meat, fiber, and pet breeds are not usually milked and simply produce enough for the kids until weaning.
Diet & Trophics[edit]
Goats are reputed to be willing to taste almost anything. While goats will not actually eat inedible material, they are browsing animals, not grazers like cattle and sheep, and (coupled with their highly curious nature) will chew on and taste just about anything remotely resembling plant matter to decide whether it is good to eat, including cardboard and clothing.
Aside from sampling many things, goats are quite particular in what they actually consume, preferring to browse on the tips of woody shrubs and trees, as well as the occasional broad-leaved plant. Their plant diet is extremely varied, and includes some species which are otherwise toxic. They will seldom consume soiled food or contaminated water unless facing starvation. This is one reason goat-rearing is most often free-ranging, since stall-fed goat-rearing involves extensive upkeep and is seldom commercially viable.
Goats prefer to browse on vines, on shrubbery and on weeds, more like deer than sheep, preferring them to grasses. Nightshade is poisonous; wilted fruit tree leaves can also kill goats. Silage (fermented corn stalks) and haylage (fermented grass hay) can be used if consumed immediately after opening – goats are particularly sensitive to Listeria bacteria that can grow in fermented feeds. Alfalfa, a high-protein plant, is widely fed as hay; fescue is the least palatable and least nutritious hay. Mold in a goat's feed can make it sick and possibly kill it.
The digestive physiology of a very young kid (like the young of other ruminants) is essentially the same as that of other mammals.
The Goat is predated by almost any large carnivore that can catch it on all worlds on which it is found. Goats have brought various types of disease with them as they have spread across space, including some that are transmissible from/to Humaniti and Vargr.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
The Goat is the domesticated version of the Wild Ibex of Terra and was domesticated at least 10000 years prior to the Solomani emerging into space. The animals have been Selectively Bred, Genetically Engineered, they have escaped and gone Feral, been recaptured and re-domesticated. The presence of Feral Goats on an otherwise uninhabited planet has even been used as an indicator for failed colonies.
Derived Products (Goods)[edit]
Goats are used as a source of Meat, Bones, Milk, Horn, Parchment and Hair.
The Meat is widely prized by Humaniti (including Solomani, Vilani and Zhodani) and Vargr. Aslan particularly enjoy the chase of the most agile mountain varieties.
Travellers' Aid Society Advisory[edit]
Goats are largely a docile livestock creature and are widely considered harmless. They have a TAS green advisory and are not considered dangerous.
There are exceptions.
Image Repository[edit]
No information yet available.
Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)[edit]
This creature can primarily be found in the following areas:
Charted Space
Species Notes[edit]
This species has been subject to selective breeding and genetic engineering during its long association with Humaniti. The statistics above are based on the most common varieties seen in the Imperium but bioengineered derivatives of as small as 5kg (usually as pets) and up to 1000kg (usually as Meat animals) are known to have been created.
Khoat are found in the Aslan Hierate. These are believed to be derived from examples captured from Terran settlements in the Dark Nebula Sector
Homeworld[edit]
The homeworld of this creature is:
World Listing: 1105[edit]
This creature is known to be found in the following systems and worlds:
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- Contributor: BackworldTraveller