Writing from Taiwan, I am proud to announce that Ishtar’s Ark back home has seen the arrival of its first set of triplets! Prior to giving birth, our five-year-old doe Esmeralda was big as a house! A “Maradi Red” who is known for having many kids at the same time; Esmeralda first time she gave [...]

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One of the reasons we have goats over at Ishtar’s Ark is because we are very fond of home-made goat cheese (in a city where cheese is very hard to come by). Unfortunately for us, our adult does Esmeralda and Allis have not produce any offspring the past year, despite spending nearly a month with [...]

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From Allis, Esmeralda… …and Amanda! Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend!

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From time to time, the goats of Ishtar’s Ark have one complaint: that they don’t get to go out as much as they would want to. We would if we could (after all, they’re very photogenic and Allis LOVES to jump on the rocks!), but with a full time job, seven canine youngsters and two [...]

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Our little goat princess Allis is a year old today! Where has time gone? It was long ago that she was a little goat kid running for safety behind her courageous mother Esmeralda. We’ve had a lot of fun with our Allis! She’s the most docile goat I’ve ever known, …which in turn makes her [...]

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Skywatching in Niger is often a very peaceful happening. The rocks, the trees and the sun make for a stunning combination. Enter a pair of goats, and you have it all. A dancing goat A stunning sunset Allis the rock formation princess takes it all in Whether pink or orange, the Zinder bush sunset never [...]

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After weeks of severe neglect in the hands of Ali during our stay in Sweden, our pregnant does Allis and Esmeralda were just starting to look better, although still in the works of fattening up. A few weeks ago, Allis didn’t even look pregnant, but this past weekend, our vet confirmed that she was still [...]

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My cousin Daniel (who has been visiting Niger with my father and is heading back with him on Monday) and my nieces Tabita and Priscilla recently visited Ishtar’s Ark and all the critters. I was thrilled to have visual updates again! The fillies have grown so big since I saw them last, reminding me of [...]

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Our once-upon-a-time baby Rhodesian ridgeback puppy from Sweden, who flew with me to Niger, has grown! Sheba (Ridgebow’s Radiant Reya of Navy) is simply not a little girl anymore! Knowing we wouldn’t be there for her monthly birthday, we celebrated with some fresh goat milk. There are few things our dogs love as much as [...]

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A few weeks ago, we noticed a lump on Allis’ leg. At that time, she had recently been on a walk outdoors, where she met other goats whom she fought with, so we figured it the lump might just be a bruise from another goat’s horn. It didn’t take long before the lump grew sideways, [...]

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Our Nigerien doe Esmeralda with newborn Allis (October 2008) Ever since we sent away Allis’ father Amadeus to the market, Anette and I had been talking about borrowing a buck for a a couple of weeks, in order to have a new goat baby (or two!) in Autumn. Although neither of us are particularly fond [...]

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The first rain of the season offered a comfortable break from the humid heat that had been going on for the past two weeks, as well as a garden full of naturally showered animals! The critters themselves were happy with the change of temperature, but some of them (Dennis Mugu in particular) voiced their protest [...]

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Although our Nigerien does Allis and Esmeralda are neither as trainable as our dogs nor as useful as our horses, they also need their time of life quality. And what better playground than to take them out for an excursion into the bush? We did not even get out of town before Allis experienced true [...]

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Every now and then, we take the goats out for a walk. Not only is it an interesting head-turner in a country where no goats have names much less collars (and way much less are taken out for pleasure walks), but I always find it interesting to watch how different animals take in their surroundings. [...]

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As much as we love our animals, there are a few times a year where pain in necessary… Vaccination time! The goats were first up – that is, Ilona and Esmeralda got a dose of some very stingy goat vaccine. I have no idea what it was for (couldn’t remember the name of the goat [...]

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