Goats are just as smart and loving as dogs, say scientists

Goats might not seem like the most cuddly animals, but researchers in the UK have found evidence that goats are as clever as dogs, and just as capable of building emotional relationships with humans as all the other domesticated animals we've let into our hearts and homes.

The study showed that goats stare intensely at their owner when they're struggling to complete a task - a trait that's also observed in domesticated dogs, but not wolves.

"Goats gaze at humans in the same way as dogs do when asking for a treat that is out of reach," said one of the researchers, Christian Nawroth from the Queen Mary University of London. He's pictured above with one of the goats involved in the research project.

"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," he added.

While they're not unheard of as pets, throughout the 10,000 years we've been raising goats, humans have used them mainly for agriculture. And up until now, scientists thought that only animals that had been bred as companions or pets - such as dogs, cats, and horses - were able to form bonds with humans. 

But there have been signs that goats have similar abilities. For one thing, they're comfortable living outside of a flock, something that sheep - which were domesticated more recently - aren't okay with.

Previous research by Nawroth and his team has also shown that their intelligence rivals that of dogs, with goats able to see if there was a treat in one cup or not, and discern from that information whether there was a treat in another cup.

To better understand how well goats could relate to humans, in this latest study, the team trained 34 goats from the Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent to remove a lid from a box to receive a reward. They ran the goats through this test numerous times, but on the last time, they made the box impossible to get into, and recorded how the goat reacted.