By Isle of Wight Observer
Visitors to Ventnor Downs this spring may be lucky enough to spot baby goats playing among the grass and bracken.
Over the past two weeks, Old English goats on the downs have been giving birth, bringing a welcome sign of spring to the National Trust site.
The nanny goats and their kids live wild on the downland and play an important role in managing the landscape. Their grazing helps keep invasive holm oak under control, protecting the rare chalk grassland, and allowing flower-rich turf to thrive.
That in turn helps support native wildlife, including horseshoe vetch and the Adonis blue butterfly.
National Trust ranger, Ian Ridett, said: “It’s been a real tonic witnessing the arrival of our goat kids, after such a wet and miserable winter.
“With the prolonged rain into early spring, we were a little concerned that the kids may struggle, but, so far, it’s looking good, and they’ve recently had a bit of warm sunshine, which would have helped.”
Walkers are being asked to keep dogs on leads on Ventnor Downs, and other countryside sites to protect the kids, as well as other wildlife at risk at this time of year, including ground-nesting birds, such as skylark and meadow pipit.
The goats have been on the Island since 1993, when nine were brought to Ventnor from a herd in Devon. Every autumn they are rounded up by National Trust staff and volunteers for health checks, and that year’s kids are tagged.
