Goat - Goat

Japanese: ヤギ(山羊) - ヤギ

A general term for mammals of the genus Capra in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla. They are said to be domesticated species of wild goats found on the Aegean islands (Bezoar), the Caucasus, and Iran (Markhor). They are said to have been kept as livestock since around 7000 BCE. They are closely related to sheep and share many common features, such as the presence of a ruminant stomach, body size, vocalizations, breeding habits, gregariousness, timidness and lack of resistance, ease of use of feed, and susceptibility to disease. However, they differ in such features as the cross-section of their horns being gourd-shaped or quadrilateral, males having beards, and the presence of foul-smelling glands on the underside of their tails. Also, sheep prefer grass, whereas goats prefer to eat tree leaves. Domestic goats are broadly classified according to their purpose: for milk, for wool, and for meat. The Saanen and Anglo-Nubian are famous for their milk, while the Angora and Cashmere goats are famous for their wool. There has not been much breeding of meat goats, but recently the Boa was developed in West Africa.
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Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

偶蹄(ぐうてい)目ウシ科ヤギ属の哺乳(ほにゅう)類の総称。エーゲ海の諸島（ベゾアール），カフカス，イラン（マーコール）などに分布する数種の野生のノヤギを飼いならしたものといわれる。前7000年ころから家畜として飼われたといわれる。ヒツジに近縁で，反芻(はんすう)胃をもつ点，身体の大きさ，鳴声，繁殖習性，群居性，臆病で無抵抗なこと，飼料の利用性，罹病性など多くの共通点をもつが，角の断面がひょうたん形あるいは四辺形であること，雄はあごひげをもち，尾の下面に悪臭を出す腺をもつ点などで異なる。またヒツジは草を好むが，ヤギはむしろ樹葉を好んで食べる。家畜ヤギは用途によって乳用，毛用，肉用に大別され，乳用種としてはザーネン種，アングロ・ヌビアン種が，毛用種としてはアンゴラヤギ，カシミアヤギなどが有名。肉用種はあまり品種改良が行われなかったが，最近西アフリカでボアが作出された。
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