What you see in these photos may seem like an illusion. But in Morocco they really live goats that can climb trees. Let's see how and why they do it.
Since childhood, we have been accustomed to thinking that a goat cannot climb a tree by itself. But here in Morocco, these ruminant mammals prove otherwise.
In general, the goat was one of the first animals that man tamed. The fact is that she is unpretentious in food and to the conditions of detention.
What makes goats in Morocco climb trees? There is little pasture in this country, and hungry animals have to "graze" on trees called Argan.
Local goats can not only climb up, but also move from branch to branch with incredible dexterity.
This is not some special type of goat. All goats have an incredible innate ability to maintain balance, so brought from other countries to Morocco, they would very quickly adapt to forage for vegetation in this way.
"Like-minded" Moroccan goats - mountain goat. He excels in mountain climbing with great strength and endurance:
Local Moroccan farmers herd goats, moving from tree to tree.
Inside the fruits of the Argan tree are valuable nuts that are not digested in the stomachs of these animals. Goats spit them out, and shepherds pick up and make argan oil, which is used in cooking and cosmetology.
Due to the high demand for argan oil from a small number of trees, UNESCO declared Morocco a biosphere reserve back in 1999.
It cannot be said that local goats destroy rare trees. On the contrary, they help spread them by collecting seeds on their fur and carrying them over long distances.
If you hear the expression: “Goats in the trees in Morocco,” you will probably think that this is complete nonsense. Let's deal with it!
What are goats doing in the trees?
In Morocco, they grow from the fruits of which they make very expensive oil, but not everyone knows how this oil is made. The thing is that argan trees are very large and thorny, getting to their fruits is not so easy. Oddly enough, the goats that graze on these trees help the locals to harvest. Eating the fruits, they spit out the bones on the ground, and from there they are easily collected by the shepherds.
Goats in the trees - fact or myth?
Of course, it is difficult to believe this story the first time, and even when you look at the photographs of Moroccan goats grazing on trees, it seems that this is Photoshop.
But no! Goats in the trees in Morocco do exist, and this is not a myth. This is because there is a shortage of green grass in this country. At first glance, this is an amazing phenomenon that is impossible to believe. In fact, goats naturally have very good balance, acrobatic abilities, and survivability. Even in such an arid climate, they have adapted to survive, to get food in such an unusual way. Shepherds drive the herd from one tree to another, and many tourists can see this unusual phenomenon, how several dozen goats jump through the trees.
How do goats stay in trees?
Goats in the trees in Morocco are not a myth. In the arid climate of this country, goats did not survive very easily and had to adapt to difficult conditions. You can find many revealing photographs showing how a goat grazes on steep mountain slopes and in other completely inappropriate places. It seems that they are barely balancing on their thin legs, but in fact this is not so.
Their unusual jumping ability is provided by an interesting and unusual structure of the legs, which are arranged differently from other ungulates. Their hooves are soft and rough, so they don't slip. Due to this, it is quite convenient for them to hold on and balance on thin branches of a tree and not fall from it. Not a myth, but a reality - goats in the trees and videos of tourists prove it.
The argan tree grows up to 10 meters high and looks like a huge branchy bush with many small shoots. The keen eyesight that goats are endowed with allows them to see even imperceptible indentations and make a clear, even jump, accurately calculating the trajectory of their jump. No one has ever seen, for example, fallen down from steep rocky slopes.
In fact, goats in Morocco graze on trees and eat the fruits of the argan tree, not only because they are forced to do this by a lack of food, they also love these fruits very much.
Where can you find "flying goats"?
The fruits themselves look like small yellow plums and taste bitter, people do not eat them, but use its stone to make oil, which is widely used in medicine and medicinal purposes. It is added to cosmetics, used during massage, for the treatment of burns, scars, scars, lichen, urticaria, and various dermatoses. The oil itself is used for eating, but this depends on the degree of its purification. It is very expensive and rare, so that the shepherds who graze acrobatic goats and collect valuable bones receive income not only from healthy goat milk, but also from the sale of argan tree seeds. To prepare 1 liter of this oil, you need to collect fruits from 7 trees. The cost of finished oil can reach $ 400 per 1 liter.
This tree grows in two countries - Mexico and Morocco. Not only goats, but also camels like to feast on their fruits. "Flying goats" in the trees in Morocco are most often found in the southwestern part of the country, many tourists come here to admire this spectacle and capture it.
Morocco- an amazing eastern country is amazing in everything. The local goats are so graceful and fearless that they climb trees in search of food.
Dry hot climate and, as a result, sparse vegetation make everyone survive: both people and animals. For example, Moroccan goats climb trees for food. These surprisingly fearless horned and ungulates regale on fruits Argans, from which fragrant oil is made, directly from the tree. An amazing picture with goats hanging on the branches of trees can only be seen in the Sousse valley. 
Local shepherds herd goats, in fact, moving from tree to tree. When the animals leave the tree, people collect under it what the stomachs of goats cannot digest - Argan nuts. However, such a waste-free use of the fruits of this tree has led to the fact that Arganium is becoming less and less every year. Accordingly oil Argan nuts rises in price. This oil, containing unique trace elements, promotes rejuvenation. However, people are reluctant to use nut butter that has passed through the goat's digestive tract. Therefore, now in Morocco they are planning a place for a reserve where Argans will grow, but without goats. 
Morocco is considered the only country where goats graze not on pastures, but on trees. And all because of the lack of pastures in the country. At the same time, goats in Morocco do not belong to any special species. The ability to maintain balance is inherent, it turns out, to all goats.
Introduced to Morocco from other countries, the animals quickly found a way out of the situation associated with a shortage of pastures and grass.
Goats in Morocco. Elgaard/commons.wikimedia.org/CC BY-SA 4.0
Goats climb the trees in whole herds, and the shepherd, along with them, can only move from tree to tree. Goats are attracted to argan trees, whose leaves and fruits they eat.
The fruits of the tree contain valuable bones that the stomachs of goats cannot digest. The goats spit them out, and the shepherds collect the bones under the tree.
Argan fruits. pixabay.com/CC0 Public Domain
Argon oil is made from the seeds, which is valued in cosmetology and cooking. Due to the great popularity of the oil and the small number of argan trees, UNESCO in 1999 declared Morocco a biosphere reserve.
Goats were not forbidden to graze on trees, because they collect tree seeds for wool and then carry them over long distances.
Argan trees in the Atlas Mountains. maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/CC0 Public Domain
You can see goats on trees in Morocco in the Atlas Mountains (on the High Atlas and Middle Atlas ranges), as well as in the Sousse Valley and on the Atlantic coast between Es-Sueira and Agadir.
The length of the Middle Atlas is 350 km, the height is almost the same as that of the High Atlas. The tops of the mountains here are covered with dense thickets of cedar trees, and between them lie stone plains and steep gorges.
They meet on tree branches ... But how many can boast that they watched goats graze on trees? Surely in the mountains everyone came across dexterous goats jumping over stones, but goats on trees are at least original ...
However, for the inhabitants of the south-west of Morocco, a kingdom in sultry Africa, such a picture is not at all original, but quite ordinary. Tourists passing near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean from the city of Essaouira to the city of Agadir have the opportunity not only to see Moroccan goats grazing on trees, but also to take pictures with them.
What makes Moroccan goats act in the role of steeplejacks, so unexpected for these animals? As it usually happens in nature, there is a lack of food resources. On the Arctic coast, with a shortage of food, they are forced to eat seaweed, and on the Atlantic coast, Moroccan goats graze on trees ...
In fact, climbing somewhere higher and easily maintaining balance at a height for goats is not difficult. This is their natural skill and came in handy in the arid African climate. Here, in the southwest of the Kingdom of Morocco and the west of Algeria, grows rare plant prickly argan. This tree is endemic (that is, it grows only in a certain area). One of the most expensive vegetable oils is made from argan fruits.
Argan oil is valued by culinary specialists, cosmetologists around the world make expensive creams, shampoos, soaps, etc. on its basis. The cost of one liter of argan oil is about a hundred dollars, which is why it is called the “Gold of Morocco”.
And Moroccan goats love argan fruit and leaves simply because they have nothing else to eat in such an arid climate. So they climb trees, eating greenery and balancing at a height.
Argan trees grow up to eight to ten meters tall, the branches are clumsy and prickly. A whole herd of a dozen animals can fit on one tree.
Goats graze on argan trees and look very "organic" at the same time, feasting on fruits that look like yellow plums. Since these animals can very quickly clean the tree of foliage and fruits “dry”, the task of the shepherds becomes to prevent them from doing this.
The herd is driven from one tree to another, and the kids, along with adult Moroccan goats, like real steeplejacks, roam at a height along the branches of the argan tree.
