Horny old goat

The horns of a wild Snowdonia goat are spectacular to see, especially when the billies are cracking their heads together to decide who’s top goat in the rut. Yesterday I found the horns of a dead billy poking out of a snow covered pile of bracken. Not such a pleasant sight but instructive. At first I thought maybe he’d lost his right horn in a fight and grown a new one. But no ...

Horns are hollow sheaths, enclosing the pointed bony cores that rise out of the skull, which grow throughout the life of the goat and are never shed. The hollow sheaths are made of keratin, the same substance as our fingernails.

Had a nail biting fox chewed it off? More likely it slipped off when I pulled it out of the bracken so I’ll go back to see if I can find it. My friendly goat expert (Bryan) has estimated the goat to have been nine years old which I suspect is a good old age in the wild.

Below is a film clip of the goats last spring when there were three billies in the heft but now there is only one. Fingers crossed there will be a kid this year although I doubt the warden shares my enthusiasm!