This photo has been circling the internet for about a year. I kept wondering if it was Photoshopped or real. So since I’m trying to post 30 posts in 30 days per the WordPress challenge, I thought this would be a good time to finally look into this little mystery. I mean, they could be cryptids, right?

Alas, they are French Alpine dairy goats called Cou Noir (meaning “black neck” in French). They don’t always look like this, almost exactly half and half colors, but it’s not uncommon.

Here’s an example of a more mature Cou Noir goat:

The word on the poster at the top is a scientific pun. In science a zygote is a “a fertilized ovum.” In other words, the one-celled-beginning of life.

Hetero normally refers to the attraction between the opposite sexes. So when used in conjunction with another word it means “different”, “other”.  So in this case, they’re referring to the black and white coloration, opposite colors, combined with the pun zygoat for zygote.

Gotta love our scientific friends! I’m just sorry these animals aren’t some more obscure, cryptid type of beast. But they’re still wonderful to see and know about, don’t you think.

Til the next time!

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