Fainting goats - fall over when startled - video
So whats the worst evolutionary adaption you could imagine for a herbivore? How about fainting when startled? Sure enough these goats will faint when
under stress. How these goats managed to breed in the wild is beyond me, there can't have been any meat eating predators.
As the story goes, fainting goats were actually handy for farmers to have around as decoys for the more valuable sheep. While the sheep would flee from predators the fainting goats would fall to the ground stunned and provide a much easier meal to wolfs or other attackers. Over time these goats have also been known as Scare, Nervous and Wooden Leg Goats.
More here
http://webecoist.com/2008/0...
By netchicken:
posted on 31-8-2008 As the story goes, fainting goats were actually handy for farmers to have around as decoys for the more valuable sheep. While the sheep would flee from predators the fainting goats would fall to the ground stunned and provide a much easier meal to wolfs or other attackers. Over time these goats have also been known as Scare, Nervous and Wooden Leg Goats.
More here
http://webecoist.com/2008/0...