Goat

Domestic goat; Temporal range: Neolithic–Recent
	A pygmy goat on a tree stump
Conservation status
	Domesticated
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Tribe:	Caprini
Genus:	Capra
Species:	C. hircus
Binomial name
	Capra hircus; Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
	Capra aegagrus hircus Linnaeus, 1758; Capra depressa Linnaeus, 1758; Capra mambrica Linnaeus, 1758; Capra reversa Linnaeus, 1758

Herd of goat bleating

The goat or domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a species of domesticated goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the bezoar ibex (C. aegagrus aegagrus) of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat.^[1] It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal - according to archaeological evidence its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.^[2]

Goats have been used for milk, meat, fur, and skins across much of the world.^[3] Milk from goats is often turned into goat cheese.

In 2011, there were more than 924 million goats living in the world, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.^[4]

^ Hirst, K. Kris. "The History of the Domestication of Goats". Archived July 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine About.com. Accessed August 18, 2008.
^ Zeder, Melinda A.; Hesse, Brian (2000). "The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago". Science. 287 (5461): 2254–7. Bibcode:2000Sci...287.2254Z. doi:10.1126/science.287.5461.2254. PMID 10731145. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
^ Coffey, Linda; Hale, Margo; Wells, Ann (August 2004). "Goats: Sustainable Production Overview". attra.ncat.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007.
^ FAOSTAT, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, archived from the original on January 25, 2016, retrieved January 19, 2014

[hadog-1] Hirst, K. Kris. "The History of the Domestication of Goats". Archived July 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine About.com. Accessed August 18, 2008.

[2] Zeder, Melinda A.; Hesse, Brian (2000). "The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago". Science. 287 (5461): 2254–7. Bibcode:2000Sci...287.2254Z. doi:10.1126/science.287.5461.2254. PMID 10731145. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.

[3] Coffey, Linda; Hale, Margo; Wells, Ann (August 2004). "Goats: Sustainable Production Overview". attra.ncat.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007.

[4] FAOSTAT, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, archived from the original on January 25, 2016, retrieved January 19, 2014

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