Goats' Play

Published in About Animals

Vrisnik is a village which boasts many animals. Goats are among the most prized.

Goats enjoying freedom in Vrisnik Goats enjoying freedom in Vrisnik Photo Vivian Grisogono

Vrisnik is one of Hvar Island's lovely inland villages. It is compact, and rises up a hillside, with the parish church of St. Anthony the Abbot at its peak. St. Anthony's feast day is January 17th, so the village holds an annual celebration in his honour on or around this date. Vrisnik is about 173 m above sea level, so most parts of the village command beautiful views over the surrounding countryside.

Among its many attractions, Vrisnik is a village which is unusually full of animals, some of them quite exotic. Some twenty-five years ago when I first arrived in Pitve, goats used to wander around the village freely, performing the useful service of keeping the garden tidy in my absence. Nowadays, only a few households have goats, and they no longer roam free, but are contained within gardens and enclosures. So it was a welcome surprise to come across a couple of young goats having an early evening outing in one of the upper reaches of Vrisnik, making the most of the vegetation which was suddenly lush after some ferocious September storms.

One of the goats was decidedly frisky and inquisitive, and gazed at me with an inquiring look. Did I have any food to offer? Once it was obvious that I did not, it was back to skittering up the wall, the next best thing to a mountainside, in search of something to nibble.

Soon there was another possibility of free food, Vlasta on her bicycle, who was keen to make acquaintance.

Friendly contact was quickly established.

However, once it was clear the friendly hand was empty, it was back to exploring the possibilities of the wall.

The owner of the goats explained that they particularly liked bread, and quickly lost interest if their new human friends didn't provide any.

Then the pair were joined by an impressive white goat, who, we were told, was their grandmother.

Goats are a special asset in a village. They provide pure fresh milk, and some householders make wonderful goat's cheese, also yoghurt. Most of the goat's milk is reserved primarily for children, as it is such a good source of nutrients, without the disadvantages of mass-farmed dairy produce. I was surprised to learn that during Socialist times goats were largely banned, because of the damage they did to the woodlands. It seemed strange to curtail such an important natural source of nutrition, which was part of an age-old tradition. I just hope Croatia's accession to the EU doesn't produce any such ill-founded restriction - if that happened, it would go against the human right of individuals to choose their food sources. It would be a cause of sorrow and serious complaint.

Untroubled by any such gloomy possibilities, the goats continued to scamper around and enjoy the soft evening air, which was still damp at the tail-end of the rainy day. They didn't take any notice of the greater world around them, but the view down to Svirče in the slight haze was magical to the human eye, rounding off a perfect happy experience.

© Vivian Grisogono 2014

 

You are here: Home about animals Goats' Play

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Bases in Norfolk, Devon and Hampshire face MoD investigation over possible leaching of dangerous PFAS into environment

    Three UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic “forever chemicals” into drinking water sources and important environmental sites.

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will investigate RAF Marham in Norfolk, RM Chivenor in Devon and AAC Middle Wallop in Hampshire after concerns they may be leaching toxic PFAS chemicals into their surroundings. The sites were identified using a new PFAS risk screening tool developed by the Environment Agency (EA) designed to locate and prioritise pollution threats.

    Continue reading...

  • The German scientist on her new book arguing that inequality, wealth and sexism are making the climate crisis worse – and what we need to do about it

    Friederike Otto is a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London. She is also the co-founder of the World Weather Attribution initiative, which seeks to determine the influence of global warming on intensity and likelihood of an extreme weather event. The project also examines how factors such as ill-suited architecture and poverty exacerbate heatwaves, hurricanes, floods and wildfires. This is the theme of her second book, Climate Injustice: Why We Need to Fight Global Inequality to Combat Climate Change.

    The thesis of your book is that the climatecrisis isa symptom ofglobalinequality and injustice. That will be quite topsy-turvy to some people, who think globalheating is caused by the amount of carbon that we are putting into the atmosphere.
    Yes, of course, if you just stick to the physics, then the warming is caused by the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, but the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. And it is also the case that those who benefit from the burning of fossil fuels are the few already wealthy people who have stakes in or own the companies themselves. The vast majority of people do not benefit. The American dream is social mobility, not burning fossil fuels.

    Continue reading...

  • Weeks of fires amid warm and dry spell have decimated ecosystems and threatened endangered species, say experts

    Britain’s national parks have warned of a “catastrophic” risk from wildfires this Easter after one of the driest early spring seasons on record.

    Park rangers from the South Downs to the Highlands said the prolonged warm weather and breezy conditions had left large areas extremely dry despite recent rain.

    Continue reading...

  • Fears produce could be permanently devalued by price war, as it ‘creates unrealistic expectations about costs’

    Supermarkets have been criticised for using vegetables as the latest weapon in their burgeoning price war, charging as little as 8p for a 2kg bag of potatoes in an attempt to lure shoppers over Easter.

    Growers said they feared the massive discounts, which are also deployed at Christmas, could permanently devalue their produce.

    Continue reading...

  • City residents are working out how to fill their streets with trees as evidence grows of their benefits

    “I wanted to do something that would benefit as many people from the community as possible,” says Chloe Straw, pointing at a small but promising sapling visible through the window of her local cafe.

    In 2023, Chloe began chatting to her neighbours in Haringey, north London, about trees. “I thought it’d be really nice to raise some money for trees on the main road. Everyone uses West Green Road, regardless of whether you have a lot of money or not, regardless of your background.”

    Continue reading...

  • Dolphin-watching tour witnesses four adult bottlenose dolphins kill a common dolphin calf in Cardigan Bay

    They had been hoping for a nice day out on the bay. Instead, dolphin-watching tourists in Wales were confronted with the shocking and grisly sight of four adult bottlenose dolphins pursuing and killing a common dolphin calf.

    The trip, in Cardigan Bay, was operated by Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips and the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF), a charity that monitors the dolphins in the bay to inform and advise on their conservation status and protection.

    Continue reading...

  • Native seed demand far outpaces supply for the state’s ambitious conservation plan. This group combs the landscape to address the deficit

    Deep in California’s agricultural heartland, Haleigh Holgate marched through the expansive wildflower-dotted plains of the San Luis national wildlife refuge complex in search of something precious.

    She surveyed the native grasses and flowering plants that painted the Central valley landscape in almost blinding swaths of yellow. Her objective on that sweltering spring day was to gather materials pivotal to California’s ambitious environmental agenda – seeds.

    Continue reading...

  • Thousands go to hospital with respiratory problems after massive dust cloud blows in from Saudi Arabia

    Iraq was hit by its most severe sandstorm of 2025 this week, turning skies from blue to an orange haze. Visibility dropped to less than half a mile, causing travel disruptions, with two major airports halting flights, and streets in Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, deserted. Respiratory problems sent thousands to hospital. The storm also affected Kuwait, where wind gusts exceeded 50mph, and visibility in some areas was diminished to zero.

    This massive dust cloud originated in Saudi Arabia before being blown into Iraq. While dust storms are common in Iraq, the climate crisis is expected to intensify them across the region in the future, fuelled by desertification in Saudi Arabia and Syria.

    Continue reading...

  • Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution

    Burning wood at home adds more particle pollution to the UK’s air than the exhausts of all of the vehicles on its roads, but there is very little information on where this burning takes place and who is most affected.

    To address this knowledge gap, researchers have produced the first high-resolution map of wood burning in England and Wales.

    Continue reading...

  • Campaigners say authorities should be doing more to clean up waters around city of nearly 5 million people

    On a clear summer’s day in Cape Town, the Milnerton Lagoon was serene, reflecting the bright blue sky and Table Mountain. But there was an unmistakable stench, and up close, the water was murky.

    A few hundred metres away, adults and children played in the water as it flowed into Table Bay. On the boardwalk, a sign read: “Polluted water: for health reasons, swimming and recreational activities are at your own risk.”

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds