The San Clemente Island goat is a type of

domestic goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

derived from

feral goat The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world. Species Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...

s isolated on

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered b ...

, one of the

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, and ...

History

The long-isolated feral goats of the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, including the San Clemente Island goat and the Santa Catalina Island goat, are thought to be descendants of goats brought to the islands by Spanish missionaries and settlers; breeds such as the La Blanca Celtiboras, the La Castellana Extremenas, and later the more common dairy and meat goats of Spain, the Malaguenas and Murcianas. They first arrived on San Clemente from Santa Catalina Island, in 1875, and there they remained

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

until the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, which was under a directive to preserve the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

flora and fauna of the island that were threatened by the

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

of nonendemic species, sought their removal. After initial trapping and hunting failed to eliminate the goats, the Navy began a shooting program to exterminate them. This was blocked in court by the Fund for Animals,Newspaper article by Yvonne Baskin, Staff Writer, San Diego Union, July 2, 1980, p. A-1 who asserted the goats did not hurt any endangered species, and thought the Navy was using this claim as an excuse. This was incorrect, as the threatened and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of plants were already federally listed and protected by the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

. Goats were put up for adoption on the mainland by the Clapp family and by the Fund for Animals. The U.S. Navy was given the right to exterminate the remaining goats, and the last goat on San Clemente Island was killed in April, 1991.

Characteristics

San Clemente Island goats are small, fine-boned, and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

-like. The males sport outwardly-twisting, "Spanish-type" horns. Both sexes are horned and although their large horns resemble those of Spanish goats, San Clemente goats are not of Spanish origin. The Livestock Conservancy (formerly ALBC) with the University of Cordoba in Spain conducted a DNA study of the breed in 2007 and found that the San Clemente goat is a genetically distinct breed and unrelated to the numerous other breeds in the study. San Clemente Island goats are listed as a critically endangered heritage breed on the Conservation Priority List by The Livestock Conservancy. In 2020, their global population was about 1400. They live on the mainland U.S.A. and in Canada.San Clemente Island Goat Breeders Association
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References

* Journal of Mammology, Nov. 1975, vol. 56, no. 4, pp 925–928, by Johnson, Donald Lee, Department of Geography, University of Illinois, Urbana. {{DEFAULTSORT:San Clemente Island Goat Feral goats Fauna of the Channel Islands of California Goat breeds originating in the United States Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy Goat breeds