Here a goat, there a goat

We all love our Rocky Mountain goats. We admire their beautiful coats and marvel at their surefootedness as they move across insanely steep, rocky slopes. Around here they are commonly found on the upper portions of Mount Evans, near Denver. But there are more than 300 species of goats around the world, and today I found some pictures of a whole new kind of goat — Moroccan tree-climbing goats.

Startling, to say the least. The Weather Channel currently features a gallery of more than 80 photos of goats from all over the world, some browsing in the tops of trees, some walking nonchalantly along 2-inch rocky crevices a thousand feet above the valley floor. All nimble and mostly all beautiful.

The tree climbing thing has an agricultural purpose. The goats eat the fruit of the Argan trees and drop the nuts. Local villagers collect the nuts and from them take Argan seeds. From the seeds they extract Argan oil, one of the most expensive in the world.

Amazing what you can find on the Weather Channel.