Myotonic Goats, when nature hates you

Sometimes Mother Nature is just cruel to the cutest creatures and sometimes God really does have a sick sense of humor. However, when they work together, they make some pretty entertaining moments out in the wild yonder. 

Picture this, a herd of prancing little goats munching their cute way down a mountainside in Tennessee. They're enjoying the sun and plentiful grass, looking all peaceful like a scene out of the Sound of Music, when all of a sudden, a hideous, manchy, drooling wolf comes barreling towards them. Startled, some of the goats hobble away while others fall and can't get up. The hungry wolf grabs the first billie goat it seems and tears it to death. You're wondering why not all the goats could run away? Because Nature obviously hates them.

These poor billie goats have the most screwed up Fight or Flight Response out there, when startled they literally become stiff in the legs and fall over. Not what I could call a great self-defense mechanism. It's a genetic disorder called myotonia congenita and it may not shock you to know that these goats are on the "watch" list by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (one level down from threatened).  

Take a look for yourself at this news clip:

I won't bore you with the details of their condition, because that would take away all the fun really. But if you're dying to know more about these poor goats, check out Wikipedia's Fainting Goats page.