Goats are stout-bodied mammals with horns and cloven hooves. There are two types of goats: domestic goats (Capra hircus), which are raised and bred as farm animals; and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), which live in steep, rocky areas in the American Northwest.
Goats are members of the Bovidae family, which also includes antelopes, cattle and sheep, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Other members of the Capragenus include the ibex, markhors and turs, which are sometimes called wild goats. Mountain goats are the only living species in the genus Oreamnos.
Size
Mountain goats can weigh from 125 to 180 lbs. (57 to 82 kilograms) and grow from 49 to 70 inches (124 to 178 centimeters) long. Their black horns grow up to 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) long. They do not shed their horns, so a goat's age can be determined by counting the annual growth rings. Both males and female mountain goats have horns, according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) at the University of Michigan.
There are about 200 breeds of domestic goat, according to the Smithsonian Institution, so sizes vary greatly. One of the smallest breeds, the Nigerian dwarf goat, weighs about 20 lbs. (9 kg). Pygmy goats weigh from 53 to 86 lbs. (24 to 39 kg). The Anglo-Nubian goat weighs up to 250 lbs. (113 kg).
