# Goats and Deer



## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

Are goats and deer related?

I have seen some say yes and some say no.

They look a lot alike (some goats more than others), have horns, cloven hooves, have same diet, some are only seasonal breeders, some people think they taste the same, a lot of the same habits...


----------



## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Sheep and goats are both members of the Family Bovidae, while deer are Cervidae. Sheep are of the genus Ovis, while goats are of the genus Capra (this makes sheep and deer theoretically more closely related than either are to deer). 

From a discussion at:
goats and deer - Straight Dope Message Board


----------



## CaliannG (Apr 29, 2005)

Sheep, deer, and goats have a common ancestor many, many millions of years ago, but technically, deer branched off first, before sheep and goats made a split to become different species.

The similarities is mainly in diet and the ecological niche they fill. In other words, it is more a case of concurrent evolution than it is to actual relation.

Think of the cockateil of Australia and the ringnecked parakeet of Africa, the conures of South America, and the Carolina Parakeet of North America. They are not closely related genetically, and if you try to breed a cockateil to a conure, you are going to be sorely disappointed. BUT, they eat the same things, have a very similar digestive system, and fill the same ecological niche in their homelands.

It is the same with deer and goats. The digestive tracks and eating habits, and the ecological niche they fill in the wild, are more similar between deer and goats than it is between sheep and goats. 

If you would like to look as similar niches in the wild, as the relationship between sheep and goats, one can look at areas in which certain species of antelopes co-exist with deer. In those areas, the antelopes are the grazers, getting most of their nutrients from grasses and forbes, while the deer are the browsers, relying more on some forbes and woody-stemmed plants, brush and trees.

Sheep and goats evolved in the same geographical areas, and therefore, to keep from competing with one another, had to develop different diets. Antelope and deer that evolved in the same geographical areas did the same thing to keep from competing with one another. This is why we tend to compare goats and deer, when it comes to nutritional management programs, rather than sheep and goats.

Goats and deer fill the same niche, and therefore need a very similar diet to stay healthy.


----------



## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

You know, growing up, I assumed deer had two teats like goats. 
Was I ever shocked the first goat I butchered and found out they had four teats like a cow!


----------



## finnsheep (May 23, 2012)

Sheep and goats can in very, very rare instances mate with each other and produce offspring. These are referred to as "geeps" or in more scientific terms, a "chimera". These can be detected via chromosome count, I believe. From what I have researched, many of these hybrids (not that they are numerous to start with) are aborted or miscarried. Few live to maturity. Ewes are naturally resistant to fertilization by a buck, so usually does are the dams in these cases.

Sheep and goats are much more similar to each other than goats and deer. (In my opinion).


----------

