Print

Fainting Goats (Tennessee Fainting Goat)

• 
  Animal class: Mammals – (They are warm-blooded (the body temperature stays about the same temperature without help from the sun), breathe air with lungs, have a 4 chamber heart, have 3 bones in their inner ears, have vertebrae (a backbone or spine), have hair or fur (even whales and dolphins have some hair near their mouths), almost all species have a live birth, but 2 species lay eggs (the platypus and the echidna), all females produce (their bodies make) milk for their young, most have 4 legs or for humans, 2 arms and 2 legs, sizes range from the Bumblebee bat at 1 in (3 cm) to the Blue whale at 100 ft (30 m)) (Examples: Whales, people, dogs, and elephants. There are about 6,500 different species.)
• Diet: Herbivore (They only eat plants)– Grass, shrubs, leaves, bushes, and virtually any edible plant
• Lifespan: 10-18 years
• Predators: Coyotes, wolves, bobcats, and mountain lions
• Size: 17-25 in (43-64 cm) tall
• Species: There is only 1 species of this goat, but there are about 200 different species of goats
• Status: Endangered, about 10,000 left
• Weight: 60-174 lbs. (27-79 kg)
• Where do they live?: They live throughout the world, except Antarctica.
• The first record of these goats came around the 1800s in Tennessee, U.S.A., when a farmer brought four goats with him when he moved to Tennessee. There is little information about the farmer and his origins, but some researchers think he might have been from Nova Scotia. Scientists are still trying to discover more about where these goats originated from.
• When something surprises or frightens them, their muscles go stiff for a short time, and they fall over or “faint.” Their muscles freeze for up to 20 seconds, but it doesn’t hurt them. Their fainting spell is a medical condition called Myotonia, which these goats are born with.
• They make great pets because they are not great jumpers and are very friendly. For many years in Tennessee, there has been a “Fainting Goat Festival” with food, live music, games for the whole family, and goat competitions.