Besides the Syrian goat, which we formerly mentioned as having
pendulous ears, there is a species in Madagascar, which are much
larger, and with pendulous ears so long, that they hang entirely over
their eyes, which obliges the animal to be almost continually throwing
them back, and therefore whenever pursued, he invariably makes to the
rising ground. The accounts which we received of this animal came from
M. Comerson, but were not sufficiently particular to determine whether
it was a different species or only a variety of the Syrian race with
pendulous ears.
M. le Vicomte de Querhoënt says, that the goats left on Ascension
Island have increased abundantly, but they appear very thin, and so
weak, that men can often outrun them; they are of a very dark brown,
much less than our goals, and in the nights conceal themselves in the
holes of the mountains.