Comments on: Get Down From There This Instant

Get Down From There This Instant

Partial Law — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 12:54:49 -0800

Moroccan Argan Trees threatened by climbing goats.
More pictures of goats in trees.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:03:26 -0800

it Is Official: Now I've seen everything.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:06:34 -0800

But when the occasional tourist has shot his photos and returned to his taxi or rental car, the most interesting process has just begun. After digesting the berries the goats will leave behind manure with the large kernels. The manure is collected by local women, the kernels extracted, washed (I hope), then grinded and pressed. The result is the argan oil. In this part of Morocco, the argan oil is used widely for food or for the health, like the skin. Thanks to its delicious taste and flavour (you just have to forget who it has been processed). Argan oil together with mashed almonds and sugar makes a tasty paste that can be eaten just with normal bread and a cup of mint. Yummy. Reminds me of the weasel shit coffee of Vietnam.

By: darkpony

darkpony — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:08:59 -0800

there is not a lot that is funnier than a goat in a tree. no sir. I feel bad for the moroccan argan trees but sometimes you have to extinct some flora for the really big yucks. why aren't there more goats on the stand-up circuit. They seem like real naturals...with or without trees as props.

By: Brown Jenkin

Brown Jenkin — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:10:10 -0800

I just can't deny the fact that a picture of a tree with goats in it is so damn awesome. /always had a soft spot for goats...still do, come to think of it.

By: darkpony

darkpony — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:12:44 -0800

me too! a poem to goats: Hey Goats, In Trees, Stop making me laugh so hard, ok?

By: hal9k

hal9k — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:15:36 -0800

Oh sure they're cute now from this distance. Just wait till someone imports a pair and abandons them in Central Park when they've outgrown the apartment. Soon we'll have the "100th goat". Then chaos.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:19:48 -0800

Reminds me of one of my favorite shots from my honeymoon. Stupid goat! What are you doing up there?!?

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:24:33 -0800

hal9k, surely you mean the 1000th goat?

By: Acey

Acey — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:25:21 -0800

In Canada they have Goats on the roof... (selflink)

By: frecklefaerie

frecklefaerie — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:26:40 -0800

Metafilter needs more goats-in-trees links. Thanks for posting!

By: jefbla

jefbla — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:30:39 -0800

Imagine one of those things leaping down on top of you, hoof first right to the forehead. KAPOW!

By: localhuman

localhuman — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:30:49 -0800

i was driving in the country-side once and saw a goat standing on a cow. i have never been the same since.

By: steef

steef — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:33:18 -0800

Another coupla million years of natural selection, and whaddya got? Moroccan Flying Goats! (Thanks!)

By: skilletfish

skilletfish — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:40:16 -0800

Neat! Goats are strange creatures. And they are pretty darn tasty in a good curry.

By: zouhair

zouhair — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:40:26 -0800

You should see them climbing by yourself ASTONISHING

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:41:12 -0800

My kids are always climbing trees, too.

By: NoMich

NoMich — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:44:35 -0800

My dream is to one day have a ranch up in the mountains of western North Carolina stocked with sheep, minidonks and tree goats.

By: sidereal

sidereal — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:50:45 -0800

It would be awesome if they climbed the trees and then fainted. Then got up and did it again.

By: dropkick

dropkick — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:56:23 -0800

What next? Goats driving cars? Goats flying to the moon? Is there anything goats can't do?!

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:57:34 -0800

I've already written my city's mayor about a systematic replacement of squirrels with these goats, primarily due to the substantially larger awesome quota they bring to the table. I'll keep you posted.

By: Liosliath

Liosliath — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 13:59:36 -0800

Where does it say the goats themselves are threatening the argan trees? It seems to me it's the humans - over grazing practices, etc... - not to mention that they tie goats up in the trees to create photo stops for the passing tourist coaches.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:01:39 -0800

They don't so much fly, as plummet.

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:21:19 -0800

It is clear: we kill all the goats so the trees as saved. To celebrate we cut all the trees and make wooden goats as souvenirs.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:59:46 -0800

Insane. That is so funny! Delightful post Partial Law. Fascinating about argan. One can buy Virgin Argan Oil on Froogle or in in Manhattan at Kalustyan's. And then there are walking fish, the snakehead. walking. scary.

By: toma

toma — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:01:04 -0800

As God as my witness, I thought goats could fly.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:05:00 -0800

Reminds me of one of my favorite shots from my honeymoon. Sicko! You married a goat!? Those stooooopid fucking things think they are Ninjas. Hello? Attention goats: YOU ARE NOT STEALTHY! I SEE you out there. Always scampering up the side of my condo building. Clamp. Clomp. Clamp. Then you freeze all statue like and you pretend your all invisible and shit. Invisible? I SEE YOU right there! Oh. And your throwing star aim isn't for shi... ...!!...

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:05:50 -0800

How do they do it? These are special, amazing goats, and I say damned the trees.

By: everichon

everichon — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:06:43 -0800

This makes me happier than cats in sinks. Or Joanna Newsom in jonmc's bowels.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:20:30 -0800

A goat once bit my sister...

By: rob511

rob511 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:38:56 -0800

Re: goats in unusual places, I wonder if Mr. & Mrs. Tombe have any kids yet? And if so, do they need a nanny?

By: moonbird

moonbird — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:52:40 -0800

Goat on a pole.

By: quin

quin — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:08:09 -0800

The first time I saw this was on some Discovery channel show. I believe it was some sort of video travelogue or something. Thing is, they didn't focus on the goats at all; the guy was rambling on about some building or something that he was really excited about seeing the next day and there in the background were these goats. In trees. The guy never remarked on it. I rewound and watched it three times, then grabbed the Wife and made her watch it. Sure enough. Goats in the freaking trees. Coolest thing every. [Makes good sense if you think about it, little buggers are remarkable agile. What with the bouncing around on sheer cliff faces and all. They probably just get bored in the flat lands and climb the first thing they see]

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:33:31 -0800

We shall overcome...

By: dw

dw — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:39:14 -0800

I had never heard of argan oil until this past fall. And then, suddenly, it's mentioned by every chef on every show I'm watching or listening to. Apparently, it's hip and trendy now. It's like the kiwi fruit all over again.

By: ga$money

ga$money — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:52:06 -0800

My mom brought some argan oil back with her from her years in the Peace Corp in Morocco. It tasted kind of smoky, somehow, and wasn't too bad if you could put it out of mind how it was harvested. Most of us couldn't. Evidently, you can also get a variety that is harvested from the trees by humans by hand, though I guess it's thought to be of inferior quality.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:56:39 -0800

rob511, omg That was a totally crazy story! You're baaaaahd, I kid you not.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:25:39 -0800

Hey, I wonder if YouTube has any... yep. (But fainting goats are funnier.)

By: susanbeeswax

susanbeeswax — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:41:18 -0800

Goats are so cool. I love teh goats!

By: iamck

iamck — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:32:12 -0800

Snakes on a plane?

By: recurve

recurve — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 19:26:48 -0800

I saw this in the south of France, while I was working at a goat farm. The youngest and most nimble goats would climb the cork trees to eat the new growth at the branch tops. It was weird, but in a weirder context. It's really sad to me, and not very funny. The north African coast used to be a beautiful and fertile land that supported dozens of large cities, hundreds of large towns and thousands of villages. The population was huge. The mountains were heaviliy forested. Then the people cut all the trees down and introduced goats and sheep to browse the regrowing forest. Then the topsoil ran down into the sea and the cities lost there ability to support themselves. So let's all laugh as the goats destroy the last of an ancient species of tree.

By: maryh

maryh — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:40:40 -0800

NickySkye, that comment about the dreaded and dreadful snakehead walking fish deserves its own FPP. Good lord.

By: quin

quin — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:54:26 -0800

Sorry maryh, much as I respect nickyskye, if she did post it, it would still be called out as a double. Not that it makes the critter any less fascinating or disturbing. [disclosure: that fish creeps me the hell out.]

By: beth

beth — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 04:45:36 -0800

People bitch about the goats causing all this destruction because they see the denuded area and the goats are the only thing browsing there. No, it wasn't the fault of the goats. It was the previous animals who ate up everything else. The goats are the only thing that can survive just on what is left, because they can survive on just about anything. I blame the humans. (Yes, I am a goat afficionado).

By: asok

asok — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:39:20 -0800

They need some Judas goats in the area!

By: iamck

iamck — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 07:32:49 -0800

Regarding the snakehead: "This species has reportedly attacked and even killed people who approached its young." What?

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 13:31:26 -0800

Goats On A Plane.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 23:09:11 -0800

Loved the fainting goats video. The things one learns on this site. Here's a little video of a goat in Israel climbing down out of a tree with nice agility.

By: quin

quin — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:56:25 -0800

Damn. That thing moves like a cat. You have to know that they are graceful, I mean they live on cliffs and all. But it's weird to actually see it in action. If for no other reason: they have hooves. WTF goats? How do you make that work? Explain yourselves!

By: recurve

recurve — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 07:33:13 -0800

No, it wasn't the fault of the goats. It was the previous animals who ate up everything else. beth, it's the goats that prevent the forest from regrowing by browsing down all of the seedling trees and shrubs. Then the soil gets washed away for lack of vegetative cover. This all happened hundreds of years ago. That's why the Mediterranian looks the way it does. It's the humans fault for cutting down every tree and introducing goats.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:00:56 -0800

Yep, and now they're having to terrace entire mountains to try to get stuff to grow there. Awful lot of work for a cultural lack of foresight.