Just A Couple Of Goats, Taking A Stroll In Brick

BRICK, NJ — Driving around the Jersey Shore, especially in the warmer months, requires being alert for lots of things.

There's squirrels and possums and cats darting across the road. There's dogs that get loose, deer at night, and all manner of other wildlife. There's also the humans: runners working out their stress on jogs along the road, kids getting on school buses, kids getting off school buses, and kids riding bikes, kids being kids.

And if you drive through the Cherry Quay section of Brick, there's goats. These are not necessarily the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time, for those unfamiliar), though I'm sure their owners love them. They are apparently meandering goats, cavorting Capra hircus (that's their Latin name), who have found their way out to the road on more than one occasion, according to neighbors in the area.

On Thursday, the wayward wanderers found themselves disturbing drivers on Cherry Quay Road, apparently for the second straight day. Neighbors say they have returned them to the owners previously, but the capricious critters seem to find their way free.

They're not the most unusual creatures at the Jersey Shore. There's a llama farm in New Egypt, and Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey has lions, four tigers and bears, among other creatures. But you don't generally see those animals strolling the streets (though there was the strolling bull in Howell that was actually a cow during the winter).

So if you're in the area, keep an eye out for these two. And be glad they're goats and not tigers. (Ask long-time Jackson residents about the Tiger Lady.)

Photo courtesy of Cookie Shortt, published with permission