GOATS

	Goat, common name for any of eight species of cloven-hoofed, horned mammals closely related to the sheep.
Goats are gregarious, except for old bucks, which tend to live by themselves or sometimes serve as sentinels or scouts on the outer edges of herds.	Wild goats, which are ruminants, feed on grasses in pastures and, in the mountains, on the branches and leaves of shrubbery.	A number of breeds of goat are raised domestically throughout the world. These animals probably descended from the bezoar goat. The goat is used for meat, as a milk producer, as a pet, and as a beast of burden.
Male goats have beards, unlike sheep, and differ further by the characteristic strong odour they give off in the rutting season.	The female goat, or doe, which has smaller horns than the male, in ordinary usage is often termed goat or nanny goat. The young are called kids. The male goat is called buck, or, colloquially, billy goat.	In the wild state, goats are nomadic and are generally found in mountainous habitats. They are agile animals, adept at making long, flying leaps from rock to rock, landing with both front feet close together. Their sure-footedness is due partly to the construction of their hooves.