Goats are Intelligent and Could Rival Dogs in Their Ability to ‘Talk’ to Humans

A new study has revealed that goats are more intelligent than what they are thought to be and could rival dogs in their ability to ‘talk’ to humans.

The study, which was carried out by researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), revealed that these horned ruminants can form an emotional bond with humans and can communicate their intentions to humans in similar ways as used by dogs.

In many countries, people use the phrase “as stupid as a goat” to comment on the intelligence of a person. Goats also have a reputation for eating almost anything and getting themselves stuck in unsafe situations.

“You can’t work with a sheep on its own. People think they are the same, but they are very different animals. Anyone who has ever worked with both animals can tell you that,” said co-author Dr Alan McElligott from Queen Mary’s Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology.

“From our earlier research, we already know that goats are smarter than their reputation suggests, but these results show how they can communicate and interact with their human handlers even though they were not domesticated as pets or working animals.”

“If we can show that they are more intelligent, then hopefully we can bring in better guidelines for their care,” Dr  McElligott said.

The researchers conducted tests at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent. They trained some goats to remove a lid from a box, and in return, receive a reward (a food item kept in the box). In one test, the researchers fitted the boxes in such a way that it was impossible for goats to open these boxes. The team then recorded how goats react to this situation. It was observed that goats started looking at humans to indicate that they want humans to help them in getting to the food – a trait which is usually found in dogs.

“Goats gaze at humans in the same way as dogs do when asking for a treat that is out of reach,” said Dr Christian Nawroth, a study authors and a postdoctoral researcher at QMUL.

The team also found that goats can also work out how to open a sealed box using levers. Such tasks are usually used by researchers to measure intelligence in apes. They were also found to change the way of looking at a human depending on what the person was doing at that time. Goats would rarely look at a person to appeal for help if they find that the person is facing away. However, they would gaze frequently if the person was looking at them.

The researchers also discovered that these animals are more likely to point their ears forward when they were in a positive state.

“Our results provide strong evidence for complex communication directed at humans in a species that was domesticated primarily for agricultural production, and show similarities with animals bred to become pets or working animals, such as dogs and horses.”

According to researchers, the new findings could help farmers have a better insight into the wellbeing of their stock.

The detailed results of the study have been published in Journal Biological Letters.