Goats running wild leave a trail of green poop to famed San Francisco attraction
A herd of goats went on the lam through downtown San Francisco, stopping traffic and leaving “a trail of green poop” to Fisherman’s Wharf, California officials say.
The goats, owned by a contractor, were clearing weeds from a hillside when someone cut through the fence on Thursday, April 20, Genevieve Church of City Grazing told SFGate.
The man, described as having a mental health crisis, seemed “interested in frolicking with them,” Tamara Aparton, a spokesperson for the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The herd escaped and went for a walk down city streets, heading toward Fisherman’s Wharf, Steven Hing said on NextDoor with a video of police helping round them up.
“They (the goats) did leave a trail of green poop all the way down to Beach St,” Hing wrote. He said the herd caused “quite a commotion.”
“Maybe they just wanted to do a tour of the city,” Caysee Klipperten wrote on NextDoor, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
City parks workers tried to corral the 40 wayward goats at about 8 a.m., the Los Angeles Times reported.
“They are not goat herders by trade, but they sort of ran around behind them and started clapping, and they were able to herd them about three blocks to where the park was,” Aparton told the publication.
A City Grazing worker showed up with a bale of hay to lure the goats back to their enclosure, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Hing’s video on NextDoor shows a city police cruiser following the goats as they return to their hillside.
“The goats were just confused and wanted to go back to where they should be, so as soon as they saw someone they knew they trusted, they were willing to follow him and go back,” Church told SFGate.
Goats are frequently used in San Francisco and other cities to reduce fire dangers by eating grass and weeds before they dry out in summer, CBS News reported.
This story was originally published April 23, 2023 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Goats running wild leave a trail of green poop to famed San Francisco attraction."