Science & Technology

Goats would make good pets, say scientists

By T.K. Randall
July 6, 2016 ·  17 comments

Would you keep a goat as a pet ? Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Fir002 They might not seem like the most obvious choice when it comes to picking a pet, but according to researchers from the Queen Mary University of London, goats are actually very clever and are capable of communicating with humans in much the same way as cats and dogs do.

During a recent experiment, the team found that goats will stare longingly at their owners when they are having difficulty completing a task - a behavior also seen in dogs but not in wolves.

Goats are even able to solve complex problems such as figuring out how to break in to a box using levers - a task that is typically used as a way to gauge intelligence in primates."Goats gaze at humans in the same way as dogs do when asking for a treat that is out of reach," said study co-author Dr Christian Nawroth.

"Our results provide strong evidence for complex communication directed at humans in a species that was domesticated primarily for agricultural production, and show similarities with animals bred to become pets or working animals, such as dogs and horses."

Whether goats will ever actually become common household pets however remains to be seen.

Source: Australian Network News | Comments (17)

Tags: Goat, Dog, Cat