They seem to react like that when they get nervous or scared. For a few seconds they fall on the ground and stay paralized. I don't know how the species would survive in nature if a predator enters and half of them just allow themselves to be caught.
Google Video - Via
Google Video - Via
There is a small herd at California's Old Faithful geyser. The geyser is a pale imitation of Yellowstone's, but the goats make the trip worth it.
You have to wonder about the guy in the field deliberately spooking the goats for no apparent reason.
They are still being widely used where sheep herds and predators are common. Eastern Europe where wolves are more common for instance.
Which is kinda sad, if you ask me. I'd prefer a flock of healthy herbivores and a few well-trained sheepdogs, thanks. Something about deliberately breeding neurological defects into an animal strikes me as cruel.
--TwoDragons
...or coyotes, wolves, stray dogs, and hungry bums... ;-)
--TwoDragons