Goats growing on trees in Morocco!

Have you ever seen a goat growing on top of a tree? The source of life for these goats in Morocco is the argan fruit that ripens at the top of the tree. These goats also have natural features that make it easier for them to climb trees. Here are the goats growing on trees in Morocco and their livelihoods…

In the southwestern part of Morocco, “Do goats grow on trees?” Questions like these are frequently heard. If you go to the area, when you look around, you can compare the dozens of goats growing on the trees to a crow perched on a tree, and you can see that they are smiling openly and happy about this situation.

Goats are potential climbers, a trait inherent in their ancestry. They have been seen climbing steep mountains and rocks in search of food. But a goat climbing a tree has never been seen before. Goats in Morocco climb to the tops of trees to feed themselves and not starve. Otherwise, they may die from famine and drought.

But there is a time for this too. Every June, goats living in the southwestern part of Morocco grow on top of the ripening argan tree. Argan tree can grow up to 8–10 meters and lives for 150–200 years. Goats climbing the argan tree, which poses a danger with its thorny trunk, have been climbing this tree for hundreds of years and can reach the top by bypassing the danger.

Goats from this region have their feet cut off. Each nail under the soles of the feet is hard and strong. It has two toes that help it hold the spiny part and the shell. These fingers provide balance and make climbing easier.

These goats also have nails called dewclaws on their legs. These nails are found in many species, including cats and dogs. But goats have a different structure.

Argan grows mostly in the semi-desert Sous Valley in southwestern Morocco, the Western Mediterranean Region, Tindouf, and the Algiers Region. The fruit is also a source of oil and provides the economic livelihood of the people living in the region. The fruit, which is approximately 2–4 centimeters in size, has a nut surrounded by a fleshy part that goats do not eat.

There are 1–2 oil seeds of the fruit inside the nut. It takes 1 year for the fruits to fully mature. It is expected to ripen from July to June of the next year. Goats are kept away from the tree area until the fruit ripens. Because goats can eat the fruit before it ripens, which prevents the tree from growing.

Traditionally, goats are seen as an oil-producing machine. The nut, which is the part that goats do not eat, damages the digestive system of goats and contributes to the formation of oil. Oil used in salad dressing and cosmetics can be produced from the feces of a goat after eating argan. But this is a very difficult task.

Over the last 20 years, argan oil has become the most popular oil in the world in terms of popularity and price. It sells for about $300 per liter. This oil is mostly popular in Europe and North America.

But there is something ironic. The production of argan oil is causing this tree to become extinct. Selling the oil brought more money to the locals and they bought more goats. As more goats were purchased, more damage was done to the trees. Between 1970 and 1980, approximately 600 hectares of argan forest disappeared.