Peter+Leonard+-+Galapagos+Feral+Goat

By Peter Leonard** Scientific Name: //Capra aegagrus hircus//**
 * Galapagos Feral Goat
 * Common Name: Feral Goat


 * Natural Habitat**

The Feral Goat is not a native species to the Galapagos. The natural habitat of feral goats, by definition, is any wild environment with abundant vegetation. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world. In these areas, the feral goat serves as in invasive species, and generally an unnatural component of the environment they have made their habitat. In the Galapagos in particular, the feral goats have been brought to the islands unnaturally in former centuries by humans, including fishermen, pirates, and whalers, to ensure a fresh meat supply would be available to them on future trips. They were also brought by settlers as livestock. There has been an expansive effort to rid the Galapagos of the Feral Goat. This project, as established by the Charles Darwin Foundation, is called "Project Isabela," and has succeeded in exterminating all feral goats through various hunting methods from the islands Pinta and Santiago. Project Isabela aims to rid every island of the Galapagos of the Feral Goat by 2010. The population of the Feral Goat in the Galapagos the population was estimated at between 75,000 and 125,000 goats. The most concentrated populations centered on the Alcedo and Darwin volcanoes. Image Citation: //Galapagos Goats Photo//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.isinz.com/‌images/‌projects/‌galap_goats.jpg This picture is an accurate representation of the numbers of Galapagos Tortoises and the numbers of Galapagos Feral Goats, and how much the goats have an advantage over the tortoises.


 * Niche Characteristics**

The Feral Goat is a herbivorous mammal feeding on mostly the same vegetation as the Galapagos Tortoise, comprising of cactus, grasses, leaves, vines, and fruit. Since the Feral Goat is so ubiqutous around the world, it is able to adapt to many different reasonable diets, climates, and housing. The Feral Goat mostly thrives in hotter climates, and suffer in extreme rain or precipitation. Thus, the heated climate of the Galapagos suits the Feral Goat. Feral Goats do not need any specific type of shelter, yet the tall grasses in the Galapagos serve as adequate shelter to house the goats. Feral Goats have an incredibly competitive relationship with all herbivorous native species wherever the goats are. They adapt to consume the same resources and find shelter in the same places. In this way, they are a major threat to some global ecosystems, including that of the Galapagos Islands. They travel and graze in large packs, and are active mostly during the day. One characteristic that stands out about the Feral Goat and one that makes it such a pest to the native species of the area (specifically to the Galapagos Tortoise) is that it reproduces in such large quantities and very quickly. Feral Goats can have a varied appearance. They tend to have shaggy coats and vary in color from white to dark brown and black, yet the Galapagos Feral Goats have short coats. Feral goats tend to weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms, and they have horns that grow continuously. A large herd of Galapagos Feral Goats, destroying everything in their path. **__//Image Citation: Pack of Feral Goats//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gct.org/‌sep08_3.html__**


 * Population Expansion**

The Galapagos Feral goat feeds on the very same vegetation the Galapagos Tortoise feeds on, including cactus, grasses, leaves, vines, and fruit. They also use this vegetation, namely the tall grass of the islands, for shelter in bad weather. The large herds of feral goats in the Galapagos are incredibly destructive in their hunt and consumption of resources, as illustrated in the view of the Alcedo Volcano on the island Isabela below. The fact that they reproduce so quickly and are so much more able and agile then the Galapagos Tortoise gives them an advantage in number and strength. Image Citation: //View of Alcedo Volcano//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.discovergalapagos.com/‌tort45k.html


 * Species in Competition**

In comparison to the Galapagos Tortoise, the Feral Goat is much more agile, and comsumes resources much quicker. Whereas the Galapagos Tortoise has only an estimated 15,000 population size, the Galapagos Feral Goat's numbers are between 75,000 and 125,000 and rapidly growing. The Tortoise population is currently rapidly wanning because the Feral Goat is decimating its resources by consuming the vegetation that serve as the tortoise's food and shelter. Because the feral goat thrives in the same conditions and on the same resources, and has a rapidly growing population as a result of constant reproduction, the Galapagos Feral Goat would not take long to fill the niche of the fading Galapagos Tortoise. However, hunting efforts by Project Isabela seek to eliminate all goats by 2010, so this takeover is unlikely. The problem that the feral goats bring to the Galapagos is not unique to these islands. Feral goats compete with native species wherever they end up for food and shelter. According to Project Isabela: "The large herds of goats are very damaging. They: Image Citation: //Map of the Galapagos//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.geodyssey.co.uk/‌galapagos/‌_images/‌maps/‌galapagos_map_100c.gif
 * Cause unprecedented levels of erosion
 * Eliminate the vegetation cover
 * Displace the native fauna (giant tortoises, insects, etc.) from their feeding sites
 * Destroy the biodiversity of northern Isabela"


 * Bibliography:**

//The Feral Goat//. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/‌biodiversity/‌invasive/‌publications/‌pubs/‌feral-goat.pdf //Galapagos Goats Photo//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.isinz.com/‌images/‌projects/‌galap_goats.jpg //Goats in Galapagos//. (2009, March 9). Retrieved from Charles Dawin Foundation website: http://galapedia.darwinfoundation.org/‌Goats_in_Galapagos //Map of the Galapagos//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.geodyssey.co.uk/‌galapagos/‌_images/‌maps/‌galapagos_map_100c.gif Moore, T. D. (1983). //Galapagos: Islands Lost in Time//. Viking Press. //Pack of Feral Goats//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gct.org/‌sep08_3.html //Project Isabela//. (n.d.). Retrieved from Galapagos Conservation Trust website: http://www.gct.org/‌isabela1.html //View of Alcedo Volcano//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.discovergalapagos.com/‌tort45k.html

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