Have You Ever Heard Of Tree Climbing Goats In Morocco?

Everywhere you look in southwest Morocco, lots of goats hang up lazily from the treetops, gazing absentmindedly like giant crows. Goats are expert climbers who have been observed scaling cliff walls and mountains in quest of food. Food is limited in this drought-stricken region, so people in Morocco climb trees for the same purpose. The goats are attracted to the Argan tree’s fruit, which ripens each year in June. Argan trees can reach a height of 8-10 metres and survive for 150–200 years. Although the trees are prickly and have gnarled trunks, goats that have been climbing them for centuries have adapted to the task.

Clove-footed goats are native to this area. Each hoof has two toes that may spread out to provide balance and leverage, and their feet ‘ soles are soft and flexible to help them grip the bark. Dewclaws are two vestigial toes located higher up on the animals’ legs. The dewclaws of goats are significantly harder and stubbier than those of cats and dogs, and they assist the animals to drag themselves up branches or lower themselves down precipitous Cliff.

The Argan is only found in the semi-desert Sous valley in southwestern Morocco and the Algerian Tindouf region in the western Mediterranean. The fruit is also a great source of oil and a significant source of revenue for Morocco’s Berber people. The goats consume the fleshly section of the fruit, which is about 2–4 cm long and contains a very hard nut. One or two tiny oil-rich seeds are found inside the nut. The fruit matures over a year, maturing in June or July the next year. The goats are kept out of the Argan woodlands because they consume the fruit before it ripens, as well as the leaves, which hinder the trees’ growth.

Traditionally, goats were used in the oil extraction process. The goats would be allowed to eat the fruit by the local Berbers, but the hard nut would pass through the animal’s digestive tract unscathed. The goat excrement would then be collected, the seeds removed, and the oil extracted by grinding or pressing, which would be utilised in salad dressings and cosmetics. The most labour-intensive element of the oil extraction process is removing the mushy pulp, which is why goats were used. Modern procedures, on the other hand, have skipped this step because the oil can occasionally have a “goaty” odour.

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