fainting goat

(Images via: Discover Magazine and Jim Knapp)

If you thought tree climbing goats were strange, meet the breed of goats that faints and falls over when spooked. Singularly and en masse these weird goats freeze for a number of seconds and generally fall over in the process. The goats have a significant fan following, are frequently used as pets and are even at the center of an annual fainting goat festival.

(Images via: OneMansBlog and Tidewater Farms)

As the story goes, fainting goats were actually handy for farmers to have around as decoys for the more valuable sheep. While the sheep would flee from predators the fainting goats would fall to the ground stunned and provide a much easier meal to wolfs or other attackers. Over time these goats have also been known as Scare, Nervous and Wooden Leg Goats.