The Men Who Stare at Goats

Written by Tom Sunnergren

You might have herd, or rather heard, about the team of four-legged landscapers Haverford College is using to tidy its campus.

Imported to the school by Eco-Goats—a Maryland-based vegetation control service that rents the animals to businesses overrun with problematic flora—the goats have been grazing at the school since last Monday, and have since become something of a local curiosity, if not outright celebrities. 

On Wednesday, a handful of onlookers—a typical crowd, according to one charmed spectator—gathered at the north end of campus to see the animals in action.

According to Eco-Goats, the motley crew serves a purpose beyond novelty. The animals can "graze in places that mowers can't reach and humans don't want to go," and, most importantly, aren't particularly picky eaters. The goats are willing to stomach a wide range of vegetation, including Poison Ivy, Kudzu, Oriental Bittersweet, Ailanthus, Multiflora Rose, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Mile-A-Minute, among others. 

They're fast, too. Eco-Goats claims 30 of its goats can graze as much as a quarter of an acre per day. Haverford, according to Philly.com, has rented 29.

That's probably enough to chew on for now. Look for more on Thursday on Haverford's peculiar guests, and plenty of additional goat puns. Sorry in advance.