Dutch Landrace buck

The Dutch landrace goat is a tough, longhaired goat that is well adapted to a cold climate, which is why the animal used to be very common in northern European countries.

The Dutch Landrace goat is the only 'original' goatrace still preserved, although in the 1950s they almost became extinct. Only two were left and they were brought to Diergaarde Blijdorp, the Rotterdam Zoo. There they became part of a breeding programme, where goats from other races were also used for their genetic material to 'recreate' the Dutch Landrace goat. Although by 2000 there were about 1000 of them, it is still somewhat of an endangered species.

The bucks have enormous horns as you can see in the picture.
The goats also have horns, but they are considerably smaller.

Other pictures I took today