Come June, a crack team of wildlife experts plans to swarm the volcanic cliffs and natural caves of a small island in the Mediterranean to ensnare what has become an out-of-control species: goats gone wild.
It is the first step in a mission to rid the Aeolian island of Alicudi, just north of Sicily, of the hundreds of feral goats that are crowding out the island’s 100 or so year-round human inhabitants, so that the animals can be adopted elsewhere.
“We are all for goats running free, but let’s be clear: These aren’t Heidi’s kid goats,” said Carolina Barnao, a council member in neighboring Lipari, which administers its fellow Aeolian islands.
“Some of them could even become dangerous.”After being seized on Alicudi, the goats will be rustled down to an enclosure near the island’s port, tested for diseases and then hoisted onto a ship heading to Sicily, where they will spend two months in quarantine.
Then, they can be adopted and taken to greener pastures.
Persons:
”, Carolina Barnao
Locations:
Alicudi, Sicily, Lipari