Sheep vs. Goats: More to It than Just Wool

Sorry for the delay, I was away for three weeks. It has become quite clear to me that most people don’t know a thing about animals – animals besides dogs and cats, that is. Just listen to what people tell their children at the zoo. Lies. A zebra isn’t a striped horse and that antelope is a gerenuk, NOT an impala. But let’s start with something simple. What’s the difference between a sheep and a goat? I’ll give you a hint, wool is only the tip of the barnyard iceberg.

I’ll start with the similarities. Both sheep and goats are ruminants (herbivores that have a rumen, the first compartment of their stomach, and regurgitate their food for re-chewing), have roughly the same body shape and size, and have been domesticated. They also both tend to have horns (although not all breeds are horned), creepy looking pupils, and voices that sound like baaahhh or muuuugh or aaaahhhgh depending on their mood. But, did you know that not all sheep breeds have wool? I bet that just blew your mind! Also, some breeds of goats were developed for fiber production. Woah! It’s true. The so-called “hair sheep” breeds don’t have wool and are bred for meat or even milk production (although wool breeds are also bred for these reasons). “Hair” breeds such as the katahdin and Barbados blackbelly are often easier to raise because they don’t require shearing, which often costs more than the price of wool. These sheep are often mistaken for goats. On the goat-y side of the equation, breeds such as the angora and pygora are bred for their fiber production. They are covered with curly white hair (called mohair) which makes them appear very sheepish (forgive me for that pun). Confused yet? Of course not.

Hair Sheep                                           Angora Goat

 

The Differences:

1. Horns – There are subtle yet important differences between the horns of sheep and those of goats (when they are a horned breed, of course). Sheep have the classic “rams horns” – tightly curling horns that tend to wrap around in a Princess Leia fashion. Goat horns tend to curve more slightly and arch back, rather than to the sides. Some goat horns are somewhat spiraled, almost like those of an antelope.

 

2. Tails – Goats have naturally short tails, sheep have longer tails. The reason they both look similar, however, is that most sheep have their tails docked at a young age.

3. Beards – Some goats have beards, sheep do not.

4. Glands – Male goats have scent glands under their tails. This is one of the main reasons male goats smell so awful. Rams (male sheep) are less odorous and have glands near their eyes (as do many antelope) and sometimes on their feet.

5. Behavior – Behaviorally speaking, sheep and goats are as different as cats and dogs…according to me anyway. Goats are more outgoing and hilarious than sheep. Goats are more independent than sheep, while sheep have a strong flocking instinct. While feeding, goats are browsers while sheep are grazers. Goats eat vines, shrubs, twigs, and leaves while sheep stick to grass. While fighting, rams will charge at each other head first, while bucks (male goats) will rear and then butt heads.

And now we know the differences between sheep and goats. Hooray!

Actually, I AM From Around Here

I’m feeling patriotic at the moment, and there is no better way to celebrate the United States of America than by taking a look at the amazing animals that evolved here in the long, long ago. This is a fact. So let’s meet these all-American all-stars!

Horses:

Horses (well, equines in general) evolved in North America. I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS. Each time a ten year old girl wins a ribbon at her local Pony Club show, the terrorists lose and America wins. Horses have been in North America since the Eocene (with a brief absence of about 9,500 years after the Pleistocene extinction). They started out as little bitty things and then evolved to bigger things. Technically speaking, the genus equus (horses, asses, zebras, etc.) evolved during the Pliocene – so zebras are also American…as are donkeys. So horses are American heroes and we should acknowledge them as such

Camels:

That’s right, camels are American. Like horses, they evolved in North America in the long, long ago times. Camels and llamas were more similar back then, and the two groups didn’t really branch off until the Pleistocene (they separated due to artistic differences but remained friends). Camels went across the Bering Land Bridge to Asia while llamas moved South America (although many camels and llamas remained in North America until the Pleistocene extinction). So the next time you see Lawrence of Arabia, remember that you are looking at Americans.

Wolves:

This one is not as much of a surprise. The wolf and the coyote both evolved in North America and spread throughout much of the world via aforementioned land bridge.  

Tapirs:

These strange rainforest dwellers are now only found in Central and South America, and in Southeast Asia. However, they too evolved in North America. Tapirs migrated south during the Great American Interchange (when North and South America joined at Panama) about 3 million years ago. Up until recently (10,000 years ago) tapirs were common in North America. I think we should bring them back because they are super cute.

Oddly enough, neither bison nor deer evolved in North America. They came over from Eurasia. Bison in general haven’t fared very well. They were hunted almost to extinction in both North America and Europe. The North American bison, however, has made somewhat of a comeback, while the wisent (European bison) has remained extremely endangered. 

A Tale of Two Cats

We’ve heard of the term “big cats,” but what does it mean exactly? Is it solely a size classification? If so, where do we draw the line? The lion is certainly big, but a clouded leopard is of a more moderate build, and an ocelot, while smaller, is still larger than the household tabby. If poundage alone is the factor, then Fat- Ass McFluff down the road could be considered wild game. Like many confusing terms, the classification between “big cat” and “small cat” is an informal one. So “big cat” isn’t truly an academic term. But we hear it often enough, so we should know what it means.

The main differences between the two groups are size (duh) and the ability to roar. Yep. “Big cats” are big and “small cats” are small (sort of). But only the “big cats” roar (with the exception of the snow leopard, silly baby). Roars are generated by an elongated larynx; the longer the larynx, the bigger the roar. Oddly enough, the snow leopard has a similar larynx but still cannot roar.

Some big ones: lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah

Some small ones: ocelot, margay, lynx

Prions, How Do They Work?

Also, what the hell are they? To be honest, before researching this blog entry, my image of a prion consisted of a small ball with a happy face on it that gave you mad-cow (as it turns out, I wasn’t too far off).

According to American Heritage Dictionary, a prion is “a microscopic protein particle similar to a virus but lacking nucleic acid, possibly the infectious agent responsible for scrapie and other degenerative diseases of the nervous system.” Thanks, the internet! Now I know exactly what a prion is! I am so happy about that.

But what does a prion do? For this answer, I turn to a more serious-faced resource, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (remember the CDC? It’s been mentioned in movies). The CDC doesn’t like prions. They say all sorts of bad things about them. This is probably because prions cause horrible, debilitating diseases that end in agonizing death. Here’s what they have to say about the matter:

A prion is an abnormal, transmissible agent that is able to induce abnormal folding of normal cellular prion proteins in the brain, leading to brain damage and the characteristic signs and symptoms of the disease. Prion diseases are usually rapidly progressive and always fatal.

That sounds bad. It sounds bad because it is bad. Prions basically eat our brains. Here is the CDC’s list of diseases for which prions are thought to be responsible:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)

Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome

Fatal Familial Insomnia

Kuru

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

Scrapie

Transmissible mink encephalopathy

Feline spongiform encephalopathy

Ungulate spongiform encephalopathy

So, my original idea of a prion being a smiling ball that kills has been revised. A prion is an evil squiggly line that kills. Here is an artistic rendering using 3-D technology: 

A Fowl Reign of Terror

Forgive me for my hideous pun. Now, imagine a land of giant, flightless, predatory birds. Paradise, right? If you’re a bird. If you’re a mammal, you may be stalked, run down, and killed by a sharp beak to the skull. This is how life was like in North and South America 5-2 million years ago. The Phorusrhacids, commonly known as “terror birds,” were apex predators. Their ancestors evolved in South America and migrated north – the only giant predator to do so during the Great American Interchange (when North and South America were joined via what is now Panama). This jolly group of birds stood between 3-10 feet tall and could run an estimated 30mph. Isn’t that nice? I think so. Another fun factoid: the Kelenken, a member of the Phorusrhacidae, had the largest skull of any known bird. The beak was 18in long. So the next time you see an ostrich, just be glad it isn’t a terror bird. 

 

Wild vs. Feral

By now you have probably realized that I am a stickler for correct terminology. Today’s subject will be dedicated to the difference between the terms “wild” and “feral.” We tend to use them interchangeably, with a certain preference for “wild” when describing things like mustangs (“wild” horses), dromedary camels (“wild” camels), and Courtney Love (“wild” child). None of these things are technically wild. Real wild things have never gone through domestication by humans. When something that has been domesticated is subsequently released or escapes from captivity, it and its descendants are feral. Feral animals (as in the case of pigeons and Courtney Love) are often considered pests. In some instances (as with mustangs), however, this labeling is unjustified as feral animals often take the ecological place left by their extinct or endangered wild counterparts. Let’s start with the dictionary definition of both words as shown on dictionary.com:

Wild

adjective

1.      living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated: a wild animal; wild geese.

Feral

adjective

2.      having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.

Now it’s time for some fun examples!

Wild	Feral
Przewalski horse	Mustang
Bactrian camel	Dromedary camel
African wild dog	Feral dog
Scottish wild cat	Feral cat
Mourning dove	Pigeon
Taylor from “Planet of the Apes”	Kurt Cobain

Paleoastrology: Columbi, July 23 - August 22

Today’s post commences a monthly paleoastrological horoscope. This horoscope is similar to the generic one except that it is much older, and therefore, more mystical. We shall explore the earth’s alignment to the stars and its influence on our lives through ancient Pleistocene animal constellations. It is all very scientific, I assure you. My cat I have reincarnated through each successive sign and am therefore quite qualified to speak on the matter.

 

Forget Leo, this is the zodiacal month of Columbi, the trumpeting Columbian mammoth in the sky. The stars do not lie, what you see below is clearly a giant Columbian mammoth.

 

People born under the sign of Columbi are leaders, and excel in strictly structured surroundings, as found in academia and the military. They are intelligent, charismatic, and outgoing, but become very dangerous when provoked. Columbi are late-bloomers, and are most vulnerable when young. As adults, however, they are nearly invincible. The most apt protectors of all the star signs, Columbi are formidable opponents. They are also well-traveled, but their migratory nature makes it hard for them to put down roots. Columbi get along well with most other star signs, but remain wary of Smilodon and Dirus, the dire wolf. Famous Columbi include: Amelia Earhart, Alexandre Dumas, Benito Mussolini, Emily Bronte, Henry Ford, Rasputin, Arnold Schwarzennegger, Peter O’Toole, Yassar Arafat, Annie Oakley, Fidel Castro, Alfred Hitchcock, Davey Crockett, T.E. Lawrence, and Napoleon.