Feral goats

Talking of the marooned Alexander Selkirk, it was the greatest stroke of good fortune that feral goats, the descendants of domesticated goats introduced by earlier sailors, were roaming the island of Mas a Tierra by the late seventeenth century; and that when his meagre supply of powder ran out, Selkirk learned to outrun them and bulldog them to the ground to ensure a ready supply of fresh meat.

The farmed goats in the picture above, from a neighbouring island, are as close to feral as you are likely to find in this country. They are wary of humans, and I managed this little family tableau today by accident. Eddie and I had just loaded the boat with firewood and I walked a short way up the hill from the foreshore, for a better view of the evening sky - and more or less bumped into them.