Benji in Yorkshire

If this doesn't make you smile there just might be something wrong with you.

Post by BBC Look North (Yorkshire).

A pygmy goat is a small breed of domestic goat. Pygmy goats tend to be used as meat goats primarily, though also work well as milk producers unlike standard meat goats. They are also sometimes kept as pets in urban or suburban backyards, depending on local regulation of livestock ownership. The pygmy goat is quite hardy, an asset in a wide variety of settings, and can adapt to virtually all climates. The anatomy of a pygmy goat shows it has many features specific to pygmy goats, such as a thurl, but also has features similar to other animals, such as the dew claw which is also found on cats and dogs. Maybe that's why dogs and pygmy goats are able to get along as friends.

 

Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans. The most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today.

Neolithic farmers began to herd wild goats for easy access to milk and meat, primarily, as well as for their dung, which was used as fuel, and their bones, hair, and sinew for clothing, building, and tools. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at archaeological sites in Jericho, Choga Mami Djeitun and Çayönü, dating the domestication of goats in Western Asia at between 8000 and 9000 years ago.