The Icelandic Goat or “settlement goat”, is an ancient breed of domestic goat thought to be of Norwegian origin and dating back to the settlement of Iceland over a thousand years ago.  Around a hundred years ago, numbers began to dwindle and the breed was on the verge of extinction.  Although numbers fluctuated, by the end of the twentieth century, numbers were in what appeared to be terminal decline.

– Image from indiegogo.com

That was until Jóhanna Bergmann Þorvaldsdóttir made it her mission to save them, pretty much single handedly.  She left her job as a nurse, and began breeding goats.  Although the income was small, the flock grew to several hundred.  However, following Iceland’s financial collapse, the family farm of Háafell in Borgarbyggðthe, was at risk of foreclosure.  As a last ditch effort to save the flock, the family launched a crowdfunding campaign.  Partly thanks to a starring appearance in the fourth series of Game of Thrones, nearly £90,000 was raised to keep the dragon from the door.

So the story has a happy ending:  the farm is now thriving with sales of milk, cheese and meat and the media flock to see the flock and report the tale.  And the numbers of Icelandic Goats have increased from less than a hundred in 1962, to nearly 1,500 today.  Even Casanova, the goat that was snatched by Drogon the Dragon, lived to tell the tale.

– Image by Art Bicnick

Obviously, goats are very lovely, but they can be useful as well as ornamental.  The flock that visit annually visit the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in California are essential and have averted a number of crises.  In what has become a nice seasonal tradition, every year, the LBNL rent the herd from “Goats R Us”, to eat the grass and reduce the wildfire risk around the laboratory; watching their arrival is quite spectacular…

What is it about Welsh goats causing havoc?!?!  First, it was a couple of mischievous Welsh goats playing on roofs, and now it is a whole flock stopping traffic and eating garden shrubs.  The herd of Kashmiri goats, were originally a gift from Queen Victoria to local landowner Lord Mostyn but are now regarded as wild and life in the hills around Llandudno.

– Image by George Good, from dailypost.co.uk

They often venture down from the hills when the weather is bad, but Storm Gareth has driven them much further into town than usual.

At times of stress, we all need a little light relief, and what better to provide it than a pair of  naughty goats.  Goats are well known for their climbing ability, and are often seen in argan trees in some areas of Morocco.  It is quite unusual to see them climbing roofs in Wales though.

– Image taken from msn.com video

Mable and the well-named Trouble, escaped from their garden in Blaencwm, Rhondda, and climbed twenty feet onto a neighbour’s roof. Fay Wilson-Yeates, filmed her efforts to get them down to show her husband, and the video is now being shared by everyone else too.  She is reported to have said, “I think it’s just what the world needs right now – my goats can bring a smile to people’s faces.”