A Zookeeper and a Goat

The Ahkron zoo in Ohio is home to many animals. Specifically, it is home to the oldest Himalayan Tahr, which is close to the goat species. This Tahr was the third most aged goat in the world. The zoo will not get more Tahr, and they haven't thought about what other animal they will get. According to the spectrum news website, "Angela Payerle is an animal keeper at the Akron Zoo, and she cared for Amanda, the Himalayan Tahr. "You build a relationship with them, you learn all of their behaviours, you learn what they will do and what they won't do," Payerle said. "You kind of create this connection with them." When Amanda passed away, Payerle was heartbroken." Amanda was 20 years old when she passed away. Payerle loved teaching about the funny goat Amanda and what the lesser-known species behaviours were like. The zoo does not have them anymore because the Tahr live in the wild, happily.

According to the Ahkron Zoo website, "Himalayan Tahr have relatively short legs and small heads with large eyes and small pointed ears. Males are larger than females, they weigh between 79 and 198 pounds." They are most active in the early mornings and the late afternoons. "They will move to higher elevations in the morning where they will escape most predators and spend the day resting. About three hours before dusk, they will move to lower elevations where food and water are more abundant."

Tahr lives in habitats such as rugged wooded hills and mountain slopes reaching elevations of 16,400 feet. Their location is in the Himalayan mountains from northern India to Tibet. Tahr is also herbivores; they eat mostly grasses, shrubs, and trees. This species is also a "near threatened" animal species. These goat species are also big game hunting species. New Zealand closely matches the habitat in the Himalayan mountains. What can society do to take care of the Tahr better?