Angora Goat

A Turkish breed of domesticated goat, also called the Ankara, that produces the lustrous fiber known as mohair and is now widespread around the world, having inspired derivative breeds such as the Pygora and various national mohair breeds. Its exact origin is unknown, though the earliest Western account may be Pierre Belon's 1555 description of goats with exceptional wool in southern Turkey; the animal appeared on Turkish currency from 1938 to 1952, and Turkey's Angora population peaked above six million in 1960 before falling sharply, so that by 2004 only about five percent of Turkish goats were Angora stock, prompting a conservation program set up in 2003. It is a moderately small, slender, elegant, light framed goat, usually horned, males weighing about 45 kilograms and standing 66 centimeters and females about 35 kilograms and 51 centimeters, covered over most of the body in long ringlets of fine, lustrous mohair that is normally white but can be black, brown or grey, particularly in southern Turkey. Angora goats are raised chiefly for mohair, sheared typically twice a year, or for meat, with South Africa the leading mohair producer as of 2010, followed by Argentina, Lesotho, the United States, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.