Tree-Climbing Goats of Morocco
Before you make any assumptions: no, this is not a tree with goats growing on it. Nor is this photo an experiment in Photoshop by some geek kid. Amazingly, the goats in these photos are real and do in fact climb on trees with uncanny skill.
Found in the small village of Tamri in Morocco, these goats climb Argan trees in search for food. Argan berries are about the best food a Tamri goat could imagine, and to reach the fruit requires them to be adept in an extraordinary balancing act that’s quite unexpected from a hoofed animal.
Over time, the goats seem to have mastered this acrobatic skill, traipsing sure-footed on the narrow branches of the Argan trees. It’s truly a wondrous and bizarre thing to behold.
However, this amazing show isn’t all that’s remarkable about these goats. After digesting the berries, the goats leave behind droppings that contain large kernels of the seeds they consume. These kernels are extracted from the manure, washed (we hope), ground pressed to produce argan oil.
Argan oil is an exotic health oil mainly used for culinary and cosmetic purposes. As much as it’s insanely gross to think that people eat and smear stuff that came from a goat’s butt, argan oil is quite popular in this part of Morocco, much like McDonald’s is popular on our part of the world. Healthy butt oil vs. fake meat plus cholesterol–who’s gross now.
