Goats and humans: what’s different?

Alright I am here today to talk to you about a very important topic: a few differences between humans and, now that the NFL season has come and gone, pro football players!

For starters, both are mammals. As non-humans, goats do not communicate exactly the way humans do. Goats will vocalize in a variety of ways, including different volumes and pitches of bleating, scent communication, and communication through body language. As you’ve heard football players call many audibles over the years, we humans tend to communicate with words and sentences.

Humans and goats also look very different. Goats have rectangular pupils that allow for them to see about 320 degrees around them, and while that may be helpful during a game, football players have circular pupils like most of us two-legged folk. Speaking of legs, goats have four, which all have hooves at the bottom. These hooves need to be trimmed and filed regularly to maintain good foot care. If ball players took off their cleats to reveal cloved hooves, I would have a lot of questions.

Now let’s take a closer look inside the body. Both goats and pro ball players eat a lot of greens and drink a lot of water to stay healthy, but goats digest that food a little differently. Goats eat primarily Bermuda hay here at Zoo Atlanta, and they digest that hay through four separate stomach chambers. Not to speculate or anything, but I am pretty sure football players only have one stomach.

And let’s be real, none of our goats here have Superbowl rings.

Now that the NFL football season is over, you have plenty of time to come see the animals of Zoo Atlanta, who are in fact the Greatest Of All Time!

(photo: Ashley W.)

Ashley W.
Keeper II, Ambassador Animals