Goats in the trees in Morocco. Photo: Arnaud 25/commons.wikimedia.org/CC BY-SA 3.0
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. Photo: 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. Photo: 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. Photo: 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.
In such hard-to-reach places, Berber tribes live, who plow the land, graze goats and sheep, grow corn, potatoes, and turnips.
A young representative of the Berger tribe in Morocco. Photo: Etan J. Tal/commons.wikimedia.org/CC BY 3.0
Incredible goats live in Morocco, no, no, they look like the most common goats that can be found with us, but this is as long as they get closer to the tree, then you won’t believe your eyes how quickly and deftly they climb on its top, fearlessly eat the fruits of the tree. And from the waste that goats produce, they create oil for food and cosmetology.
Moroccan goats are an example of the fact that living beings have to adapt to any conditions in order to survive. After all, not for the sake of pleasure, these animals climb out to the very tops of the trees, but all in order to get to food and satisfy their hunger. The fact is that in this hot African country there is very little green and juicy grass, so the goats had to find a way to get to the green leaves, as well as their favorite delicacy - the fruits of "Argania".
The tree "Argan" (Argania spinosa) is the most common here, the trunks are twisted and clumsy and it is good to climb on them, their height usually reaches about 10 meters, and they live about 200 years. Thanks to their powerful root system, they can survive in such unfavorable places with a dry and hot climate, lack of fertile soil. But for people, it is also useful for its valuable fruits, which look like olives, only more fleshy and rounder. And inside the fruit is a bone, from which Argan oil is created.
The local Berbers turned out to be very cunning and resourceful (well, or lazy, so as not to do extra work themselves) and came up with the idea of collecting bones that are not overpicked in the goat's stomach and fall to the ground with excrement, then these bones are collected and sold for further processing, during which produces argan oil. This oil is now very popular in the world and is used both for cosmetics, it is believed that it has the ability to rejuvenate the body, and for cooking, salad dressing. The oil is considered healing, they say it improves immunity, stimulates blood circulation, and also lowers cholesterol. True, not everyone will probably want to try this oil, having learned that it can be said to have gone through digestive system goats.
It is very interesting to watch the goats, when the shepherd leads them to the tree, they circle a little around him and jump up with a powerful sharp jump to the lower branches, and then, like squirrels, easily jump from one branch to another, while eating the fruits. Since, due to the fact that a herd of 8-10 goats can completely devour an argan tree in a day, a campaign to preserve these trees is increasingly moving forward in Morocco. The shepherd, lingering for a short time on one tree, drives the goats to the next, driving with his twig. At the same time, it is only a joy for goats to move from tree to tree with ease and arrogance already jumping on a new tree. Even young goats are very skilful in climbing an argan tree and climbing thin branches just as skilfully.
Tourists love to stare at these goats jumping and climbing branches, so they often come to see with their own eyes and make sure that they still exist. Goats that can climb trees can only be found in the southwestern part of Morocco, in the area between the cities of Agadir and Essaouira (closer to Agadir). Fortunately, they can be easily seen directly from the highway, which repeats like a snake coastline Moroccan Atlantic, where these funny goats actually graze.
Also on this highway you can see locals who sell the previously mentioned argan oil on makeshift stalls. But you need to be careful, instead of argan oil, you can slip an ordinary olive tinted with paprika. A small bottle of this valuable product can cost up to $50, but here the Berbers will sell it to you for a little less. Gradually, oil producers refuse to accept from local residents the bones that are obtained by passing them through digestive tract goats, so it is possible that the Sousse valley and the Atlantic coast between Essaouira and Agadir, where tree-climbing goats graze, will soon be declared a national reserve.
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, where Moroccan goats grazing in the trees, it seems like it's 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. 
