The Damascus goat is quite possibly the ugliest breed of the barnyard animal, and now video of the so-called “goat monster” is going viral internationally.
Video of a Damascus goat inside a pen at a farm has spread across the internet, gaining particular interest in Asia and spreading to the United States this week. The strange goat breed was called the “bulldog of goats” by Newsweek , which covered the viral phenomena this week.
The goat has an oversized head and a snout that seems to be inverted, leaving it looking permanently deformed. But the Damascus goat is very real, and that is actually how it looks. That seemed to amaze the internet, with a two-minute clip of the so-called “goat monster” spreading across social media this week.
This is not the first time that a mysterious-looking creature has gained viral fame. Last year, a bizarre-looking marine animal washed up on a beach in Texas City following Hurricane Harvey. As the Daily Mail noted, Preeti Desai of the Audubon Society caused a viral stir after posting a picture of the creature on Twitter and asking for help in identifying it.
The animal had a tube-like body and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, drawing all kinds of guesses as to what it might be. As Time noted, biologists later identified the creature as an animal with an equally strange name — the fangtooth snake eel.
Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City, TX. #wildlifeid pic.twitter.com/9IUuuL65qh
— Preeti Desai? (@preetalina) September 6, 2017
The video of the Damascus goat isn’t generating quite as much mystery as the Texas beach creature, but it is still getting plenty of attention. The video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times collectively, and it has become a trending search both in the United States and across the globe.
For those curious about the goat monster itself, the Damascus goat was actually revered in Arabic literature and highly valued for its milk and meat. It is raised primarily in Syria, Cyprus, and Lebanon.
???? An oriental goat, from the East. What a monster! I prefer not to ask how this arose. Inshallah… pic.twitter.com/0OSLGLTcoN
— Onlinemagazin ? (@OnlineMagazin) March 22, 2018
And for as scary as the goat monster may look in the viral video, Newsweek points out that the Damascus goat is actually kind of cute when it’s still a kid. You can check it out here and judge for yourself.
