The Adventurer

I was eying this photograph of a mountain goat when the lead lines from the chorus of America’s brilliant 1974 single ‘Tin Man’ came to mind…

“But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have”

And as much as it’s an ear-worm, and in general, America’s ‘better than the Eagles’ blend of beautiful harmonizing in folk-rock or arguably, rock-folk, hits that sweet spot every time one of their tunes drifts to the mind (or ear), it really got me thinking about the life of a mountain goat.

I believe I drew the parallel, subconsciously at least, of “Tin Man” and the “Mountain Goat” due to the trope that Goats eat tin cans. My whole life this has always been just “a thing”. Not yet a “fact” as I really had no information to go on other than cultural references of a thin and strung out goat devouring an empty can of something or other.  When I jog my memory, I have zero visual representation of what this would look like, other than in a very old cartoon. How do you eat a tin can?! I risk cutting my hands up every time I fumble with a can of chickpeas. I am a full size human, with tools at my disposal, and I can’t even figure out how this works. So I did some googling, and found some answers.

Apparently, goats don't, and won't eat tin cans and the idea that they do is preposterous. 
I found a blog within what used to be an online tech store, Woot, called ‘The Debunker’ written by Ken Jennings (yes, Jeopardy’s Ken Jennings!) that cleared this up. 

“The stereotype of the can-chewing goat is based on the fact that goats, unlike most farm animals, are browsers, not grazers. They'll nibble at just about anything to see how it tastes.”

He continued..

“the FDA reported in a 2000 veterinary newsletter, "one must distinguish between what the animal actually consumes, and what it might pick up out of mere curiosity." The FDA titled this section, in boldface, "Goats Do Not Eat Tin Cans."

There is further explanation that the image of the tin can PROBABLY came to light from an actual goat or many goats picking the label off the tin can and enjoying the glue, much like they would nibble on anything out of curiosity. But if they were to eat a tin can, they would probably die. Further googling brought me to a website on keeping your own backyard goat, with photos of the bodies of goats that have died, object inside. No tin cans, but a few of carpet that seems to have got caught in the intestinal tract of the goat. It's an educational google, but not a very inspiring or “nice” google. I would not suggest it and rather you just take my word for it. 

I continue to think of this image of a Mountain Goat, “browsing”, not “grazing” upon these rocks. 
There is an inscription, on the back that reads
“Photographed by Vincent Bejgrowicz Rocky Mountains, Mt. Evans, Colorado 1982”.
I google the life expectancy of a mountain goat and think about the adventures this one had.