4 days ago
Herds of goats are baa-ck to graze at Nose Hill Park
Goats are baa-ck in Nose Hill Park.
Article content
Starting Wednesday and for the next 14 days, around 800 goats will be grazing a 58-hectare area in the Rubbing Stone Hill natural parkland zone.
Article content
Article content
This is the third year the goats will put their skills to work in Nose Hill.
Article content
'They're here to basically enhance and rebalance the ecological health on this side of the hill,' said City of Calgary parks ecologist Andrew Phelps.
Article content
Article content
'In Rubbing Stone specifically, we have larger tracks of native, rough fescue prairie, and as the city has grown, we've lost a lot of those grazers,' he said.
Article content
Article content
'They help basically remove the vegetation overmass and biomass, then that stimulates shoot growth and is good for overall ecological health.'
Article content
Sections of the park will be closed while the goats are at work. Calgarians are welcome to watch the goats graze from pathways, but are asked to respect closed areas.
Article content
'We'll have some education ambassadors on site for most of the 14 days, so we encourage Calgarians to come down and chat with them, and learn about conservation and Nose Hill,' Phelps said.
Pets should also be leashed to ensure they do not wander into the enclosure.
Article content
Jeannette Hall, owner and operator of Baah'd Plant Management and Reclamation, will be out with the goats on Nose Hill for the next 14 days.
Article content
Article content
She uses a special breed dubbed the 'Alberta Goat.'
Article content
'It started with eight different breeds, and we wanted athleticism, we want goats that are hearty and that will keep up with all the elements,' Hall said. 'They've got to be able to hike hills and cliffs, and go through thick bush.
Article content
'We've just been slowly crossbreeding them with cashmere and various other meat and dairy goats, until we've gotten a really hearty athletic goat that can raise its young on its own.'
Article content
Hall and the goats are expected to work 12- to 16-hour days. She said they plan to mimic how bison and other large-herd animals would have come through the area.
Article content
The goats will also be accompanied by dogs.
Article content
'We have herding dogs — they're athletes and they can only work in short spurts, so we have to cycle through them,' Hall said. 'And we also have guardian dogs for predator control, but also if someone's off-leash dog gets in here, our dogs will take care of it.
