West African dwarf goat

West African Dwarf
Goats in Kabala, Sierra Leone
Conservation statusFAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 146 
Other names
  • African Dwarf
  • Djallonké
  • Fouta Jallon
  • Grassland Dwarf
  • Chèvre Naine des Savanes
  • Guinean
  • Guinean Dwarf
  • Forest Goat
  • Pygmy
Distribution
Traits
Weight
  • 20–30 kg[2]: 416 
Height
  • 40–50 cm[2]: 416 
Horn statususually horned in both sexes
Beardmales often bearded[2]: 416 
Tasselssometimes present

The West African Dwarf is a large and variable breed or group of breeds of domestic goat from coastal West and Central Africa, a range extending approximately from Senegal to Congo. It is characterised by achondroplasia or dwarfism, a trait that may have evolved in response to conditions in the humid forests of the area, and also by some degree of resistance to tsetse-borne trypanosomiasis or "sleeping-sickness".[3]: 106 

There are many regional strains or breeds within the group; other names for the group as a whole include African Dwarf, Djallonké or Fouta Jallon, Grassland Dwarf or Chèvre Naine des Savanes, Guinean or Guinean Dwarf, Forest Goat and Pygmy.[2]: 416 [4]: 52 

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