Incredible animals : funny fainting-goats - Myotonic Goats (chèvres qui se paralysent)
Like 2 Dislike 0 Published on 2 Sep 2010
" Goats. The earliest known domesticated farm animal.
Today there are more than 400 000 000 of them worldwide.
Then there is this little guy... he doesn't get the attention of say, the more fashionable Angora goat, he is a FAINTING goat ....."
Capra hircus - Myotonic Goat (Average Lifespan 12 to 15 years) Height: 17 to 25 inches (43 to 64 centimeters) Weight: 50 to 165 lb (27 to 75 kilograms)
A fainting goat is a breed of domestic goat whose muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat is startled. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side. The characteristic is caused by a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. When startled, younger goats will stiffen and fall over. Older goats learn to spread their legs or lean against something when startled, and often they continue to run about in an awkward, stiff-legged shuffle.
Meat goat of medium size breed, specifically specialized for smaller production operations as they are unable to challenge fences as vigorously as larger meat goat breeds, due in part to smaller size and also because of the myotonia. Smaller specimen of fainting goats are kept as pets. In the past they were used for protecting livestock such as sheep by involuntarily "sacrificing themselves" to predators, allowing the sheep to escape.
Fainting goats have many other names, including Tennessee (Meat) Goats, Nervous Goats, Stiff-leg Goats, Wooden-leg Goats, and Tennessee Scare Goats. They are smaller and somewhat easier to care for and maintain than larger meat goat breeds, which makes the fainting goat desirable for smaller farms. They are also raised as pet or show animals as they can be friendly, intelligent, easy to keep, and amusing.
The origin of the fainting goat is peculiar. The goats appear to have arrived in Marshall County, Tennessee in the early 1800s, courtesy of a reclusive farm worker named Jon Tinsley who was most likely from Nova Scotia. Before he left the area, he sold his goats — three does and a buck — to Dr. H.H. Mayberry, who bred them.
Un petit doc curieux sur une variété de chèvres qui se tétanisent littéralement quand elles sont stressées ou surprises. La Tennessee est une race de chèvre assez singulière, car elle a un défaut génétique : la myotonie. Lorsqu'elle est effrayée ou excitée, cette chèvre a les muscles des pattes arrière qui tétanisent, ce qui la paralyse pendant quelques secondes. Ces chèvres étaient utilisées pour accompagner les troupeaux de moutons et servir de proie en cas d'attaque par un prédateur...
Et spécialement pour Thierry, cette compilation des meilleures vidéos de chèvres qui se tétanisent ^^ : http://youtu.be/AnVv0RkiG4U