Herd of goats take over empty Welsh town during Covid-19 lockdown

[CatWoman]

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Have you heard the one about goats taking over a Welsh town? Well, it turns out it's true.

Wild Kashmiri goats have been spotted wandering freely through Llandudno's deserted streets in recent days, nibbling at hedges and springtime gardens as they go.

The animals typically spend their time grazing on the heights of the nearby Great Orme headland and only usually venture down to the town during bouts of bad weather.

But with so many fewer people out and about amid the coronavirus lockdown, some think the creatures have been drawn into Llandudno this time by little more than inquisitiveness.

"They are curious, goats are, and I think they are wondering what's going on like everybody else," town councillor Carol Marubbi told the BBC.

"There are very few visitors on the top [of the Orme], so they have come down in their droves.

"There isn't anyone else around so they probably decided they may as well take over."

Ms Marubbi added that everyone in Llandudno was "very proud" of the animals, which belong to a herd of about 120 goats, saying they had provided "free entertainment" to people cooped up indoors.


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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/goats-take-over-welsh-town-during-coronavirus-lockdown-a4402601.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR0YykxasHk-BJswcMBpOTMMa_yklexzGk_iEm7OWdCJoIEXlAYtgEZrDt4#Echobox=1585651883

[Aristus]

1. I was sort of under the impression that goats take over well-populated Welsh towns, as well.

n/t

[cwydro]

4. Naw, usually sheep.

I’ve got the pics to prove it lol.

[Aristus]

5. Isn't a goat just a horny sheep?

[cwydro]

8. Lol! I think that applies to humans only!

If you’ve never been, get to Wales someday!

Wonderful, magical place.

[Aristus]

12. Been there. Lovely country. Very nice people.

I got my hosts to take me to Beddgelert, because, being of Welsh extraction, I was raised on the legend of the brave, tragic dog, Gelert.

Got to see the 'grave', and everything. This was before I found out it was the Welsh version of a tourist trap. With no evidence that Gelert, or anyone else, is buried there.

Still, I enjoyed my visit very much.

[Siwsan]

11. I remember seeing goats wandering the streets of Blaenau Ffestiniog

Lots of sheep everywhere else.

[cwydro]

13. Yes, always see sheep everywhere I go in Wales.

But, yes, goats as well.

A wonderful place, Wales.

[CatWoman]

19. Can you explain something to me, please?

I once referred to a Welsh gentleman as British and he got highly offended.

He was really pissed at me but wouldn't tell me what I did wrong?

[cwydro]

21. Lol, my mother was Welsh and my father was English.

Both BOTH were British.

Now if you called him ENGLISH, then I would understand.

[CatWoman]

23. ok; I'll bite

what would be wrong with calling them English?

[cwydro]

24. Because England was separate from Wales, and most Welsh consider it still is.

Same as calling a Scot English lol. Wouldn’t recommend it.

But Great Britain encompasses all the British Isles (and so many other places once upon a time.)

When I was visiting my aunts (both in their 80s) in Wales last year, and they heard me say to a friend that I was in England, they exclaimed, almost in unison - WALES!.

There are two different flags, and oh my, the soccer and rugby matches!

[CatWoman]

25. LOL

Thanks for your version of Great Britain for Dummies

[cwydro]

26. My parents met in Canada, and dad decorated the church with a huge flag of St. George on one side

and the Welsh flag on the other.

On the roof.

I still have the St. George one.

[SharonClark]

27. Your aunts were right to correct you.

Your were in bloody Wales, not bloody England.

The Welsh are also British.
The Scots are also British.
The English are also British.
English does not equal British.

Does that help?

[cwydro]

28. Absolutely, if you see my previous posts, that's exactly what I said to the other poster.

[CatWoman]

29. yup

[cwydro]

32. Thank you lol.

But I guess she bloody well told me, didn’t she?

[CatWoman]

34. ROFL!!!

[CatWoman]

39. one more thing -- why is Charles Prince of Wales????

[cwydro]

41. Omg, that is a LONG story.

Perhaps you should direct your question to she who scolded me!

[ismnotwasm]

2. Goats always win

[pat_k]

3. "...they had provided 'free entertainment' to people cooped up indoors."

Love it. Better than Netflix!

[Ilsa]

20. Do they sing and tap dance? Juggle? Mime?

Have they appeared on Stupid Farm Animal Tricks yet?

[pat_k]

31. For some reason I think they are fascinating.

Maybe it's their weird eyes:

Here is one amazing goat:

[Ilsa]

37. Ooo, yeah, they do have mesmerizing eyes! nt

[Siwsan]

6. I absolutely love the town of Llandudno. Not so many goats, last time I visited!

It really is a charming seaside resort sort of town - kind of Victorian in style. I managed to climb the Great Orme, when I was there. Exhausting. Fortunately there is a lovely tea shop at the top.

In my memory, it was sheep I was seeing around the Orme but perhaps some goats, too. I definitely saw goats wandering down the street in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Sorry - my memories are causing me to wander. Suffice it to say that Wales is always quite magical.

[shanti]

10. I'd like to visit Wales

if I could just pronounce the names of the towns!

[Siwsan]

14. It definitely can be tricky!

I love the north of Wales. It is where you will hear the language spoken more than in other sections of Wales. At least that was my experience.

Having a Welsh surname and a respectful curiosity gained me a lot of help with the correct pronunciations.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Hmmm.. I wonder if I should hyphenate my ggrandfer's name should I ever visit. It

would be a mouthful (Henderson-Lewis,) but that would be very fitting. (I could throw in my maiden name and my mother’s, and I’d really have something.)

[Siwsan]

18. I got the feeling that they LOVE meeting Americans with Welsh bloodlines

I love to immerse myself into what ever culture I'm visiting. I still remember the conversation I had with the landlady about my breakfast request - the Welsh version of a 'Full English' which is eggs, sausages, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and fried toast. They told me most Americans weren't quite up to that sort of start to their day. And for the rest of my meals - no American style fast food for me. Always like to eat at small, out of the way neighborhood places. Especially the local fish and chips shop. That's where you meet interesting people.

And I was the same way when I lived in Iceland. Most of the other Americans never left the base. Not me - my friends were Icelandic and I had some wonderful experiences because of it.

[csziggy]

38. The Welsh do love helping people research their Welsh heritage!

Last fall I got to visit the village my great grandfather left in 1872 to come to the US - Llanfihangel y Creuddyn (easier to spell than to pronounce). I stopped by the church where he was baptized and where his parents were married - found his father's and some of his brother's grave stones - and called one of the numbers on the community billboard to ask about the parish records.

All the records are now in Aberystwyth, just a few miles away, but the lady I talked to contacted the local village historian and genealogist. She provided me with some information, but I had nearly everything she had. We also discussed the heritage of my great great grandfather.

He apparently was born in London, then moved to the village before 1837 when he wed a local girl in the church. I think I have found his parents and my theory is sort of bolstered by a stone next to his, that of a woman and her child with the last name of Groome. She died within years of my ancestor being born and Groome is the name of the woman who had a son with his name in London in 1814. The genealogist said the Groome family lived in the a nearby village, but I could never get the name straight. I'll have to dig into the early Welsh census and records!

My husband and I spent half a day in the National Library of Wales and may have found my great grandfather's mother - conveniently named Mary Morgan with a father named David. I have the marriage of a David Morgan to a Catherine Jones from a village closer to Aberysthwyth, and one of the several Marys daughters of David was baptized with her mother there who was named Catherine. Unfortunately, that Catherine Jones was baptized by a man who only wrote the date and name of the baptized but not their parents' names.

A few days later we got lots of help from archivists in the Caernavon Archives and found my husband's ancestor there who became sheriff of Caernavon in 1705 - after his Quaker son moved to Pennsylvania in 1699. That's been a unverified family story until now!

[shanti]

7. How cool is this?

Free entertainment!

[hatrack]

9. Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell . ..

[progressoid]

22. ...

[patricia92243]

15. Oh such a handsome boy!

[mcar]

17. I was there many years ago

for too short a time. But I remember how beautiful it was.

[Yavin4]

30. Life after humans.

I live in NYC, and I just heard birds chirping.

[Raine]

33. Sweet ❤

Thanks for posting that, makes me smile!

[CatWoman]

36. ....

[Brainfodder]

35. Hilarious side effect, thanks for sharing.

[MustLoveBeagles]

40. Thanks for sharing CatWoman

This brought a smile to my face.

[librechik]

42. the attack of the Zombie Herd.

I don't know about you, but I'm more scared of goats than zombies. And those are some mean looking goats.