[Animalphotography Contest] Goats firefighters of Santa Barbara

Not only goats are very charming creatures but also they have a special duty in California.

You may have heard that our state if very prone to fires because of hot and dry climate. In fact, in 2017 California had probably the most devastating fires in the recent history. So, some time at the end of spring, after the rain season is way over and the grass gets dry and creates a potential fire hazard, the goats are used by local residents for getting rid of all the dry vegetation.

There is a special service that arranges delivery of a heard, approximately 50 males, installs a fence around the area that needs to be treated first, and they also leave a shepard dog to guard the billy goats from coyotes and other predators. In a few days the fence along with the animals is being moved to the next plot.

Santa Barbara is not a huge city, the population is about 100K people. But it's certainly not a village where chickens or cows just walk down a street. I was quite impressed when I saw this whole goat operation for the first time. Imagine a neighborhood with fancy houses and lush gardens, everything very urban and civilized, and all of a sudden you see some goats!!!

Anyway, I think they are the cutest things ever. So I took a chance to take pictures of them))