Catalina Goat Characteristics, Origin & Uses

There are many wild goat breeds available along with the domesticated goats. The Catalina goat is a wild goat and it is known for it’s beauty and strength.

Many of the goat farmers do not know about this goat breed, as it is a feral goat breed. This breed is not a domesticated breed, and available in the wild. But it is renowned for it’s specific personality traits or features.

Catalina goat is not any ordinary goat species, in fact, it is the most prized and sought-after large goat breed with many admires.

The Catalina goat is actually from Spain. Although, today it is also found in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Hawaii.

The breed takes it’s name from a domestic goat that went feral and was found on the Santa Catalina Island located near Los Angeles, California.

The Catalina goat is in demand for a lot of reasons. They are much popular mainly for their beauty, strength and gigantic horns.

However, here we are trying to describe some more information about the Catalina goat breed.

Catalina Goat Characteristics

Beautiful, and extremely wide horns of the Catalina goat has made this goat breed special. This unique characteristics has made them eligible for trophy hunts. And it is the most sought-after game species and is hunted by many hunters.

The breed is available in a wide variety of colors. But they are mostly found in brown, black, reddish-brown or white (other colors are also not uncommon).

The outer hair of these goats is course, and most male and female goats have beards. Their stunning horns need a special mention as they make an impressive trophy. Photo from KANATI

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The male Catalina goat have large and wide horns that grow up and back from the head in large twists. And the horns can grow to be 20 to 30 inches tall and spread up to 30 to 40 inches. The longest recorded Catalina goat horns are measured at 53 inches.

But the female Catalina goats are generally hornless. Although, some female goats also have curved cones about 4 to 6 inches tall. Average body weight of the Catalina goat is between 130 and 275 lbs.

Generally a mature male goat weights around 175 lbs. But the females weight comparatively less, with an average weight o 80 lbs. Their average body height is between 4 and 5 feet.

Uses

The Catalina is not a domestic goat. It is mainly a wild goat and hunted by the hunters.

Special Notes

The Catalina goats reside in hot and dry areas and mainly survive on leaves and grasses. They are generally found on rough and overgrazed ranches.

A large number of Catalina goats were killed, because they were destroying the natural ecosystem of Catalina Island. They are very hardy and they don’t need a lot of water to live and survive.

The Catalina goats have a year-round mating season. Generally a female will wag the tale to signal the males, when she is in heat. The female goat will be pregnant for around 5 months and will give birth to 1-3 kids at a time (mostly 2).

However, review full breed profile of the Catalina goat in the table below.

Breed NameCatalina
Other namesNone
Breed PurposeWild
Breed SizeMedium to Large
Buck’s WeightAround 80 kg
Doe’s WeightAround 37 kg
HornsYes, Large horns
Climate ToleranceAll Climates
Coat ColorMany
Good For Stall FedNo, it’s a wild breed
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginSpain

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