To see these critters climbing the branches of the Argania tree, you’ll first trek to Morocco, generally via one of the larger cities that has an airport for easy access. Once you’re in-country, you’ll need to head to the Souss-Massa-Draa region south of Marrakech. There are popular tourist destinations in the area that you’ll enjoy visiting as well, including Agadir, Essaouira, and the fortified market city of Taroudant.

These animals are being manipulated and exploited,” she says. “They're not moving freely. They don't have access to food, water, or even shade. Being forced to stay in trees for hours is not a normal behavior." ‘Flying goats’ Goats simply can’t digest the fruit’s seed, no matter how much they enjoy eating it. Their munching on them, though, strips away the skin and fruit. They then swallow the seed or spit it out, meaning a clean, spit-out seed or one that’s passed through their digestive system and been “softened.” When you travel the world, you’ll find all kinds of interesting animals doing unexpected things. If you’re an animal lover, you’ll set your sights on destinations like Australia, where sugar gliders swoop through the air and quokkas snuggle up to visitors on Rottnest Island in the hopes of getting some fresh greens from the Melaleuca bush tops nearby. But the rest of the world has some pretty interesting animal situations, too, including the tree-climbing goats of Morocco. Why Do Moroccan Goats Climb Trees?Daniel Bergin, associate director at Globescan, a sustainability consulting firm, has studied animal welfare in Morocco and is sympathetic toward Benaddi and other farmers like him. “Obviously, you can’t just take away somebody’s livelihood,” he says, referring to calls by animal welfare advocates to shut down the goats-in-trees business. “There needs to be a system in place. The government needs to work with the people.” Adnan El Aji, a veterinarian in Essaouira, says goats are resilient and can cope with stressors such as heat and water scarcity. But making them stand in trees for hours during Morocco’s summers, when temperatures can soar to the hundreds, can lead to heat stress and dehydration. And the animals can fall out of trees and get hurt. He recalls the time a tourist brought a goat that had fallen and needed treatment for a broken leg. “The tourist paid for it,” he says. While the activity might appear to be benign, it is animal cruelty,” she says. Tourists, she adds, “are essentially getting photos of living props. What’s going on here is not natural. It’s coerced, and any time you introduce an element of coercion, it’s not relevant whether their bodies can manage to stand on trees.”

Nine separate herds, including Benaddi’s, can be seen adorning trees along the roughly hundred-mile road from ancient Marrakech to Essaouira, a bright, breezy city on the Atlantic coast that’s popular with tourists. The goats generally stand from late morning to mid-afternoon, when traffic is heaviest between the two cities. Goats in trees also can be seen farther south, near Agadir in the Souss-Massa region. The best time to see goats climbing on trees in Morocco is in late spring, early summer (May – June), when Argan fruits are ripe. FAQ

If you want to see authentic goats that climb trees of their own free will, I encourage you to scout the area with a good local guide who can take you farther away from the main road. After all, the reason we think tree goats are so cute isprecisely because they do it naturally . This natural phenomenon is unique to North Africa. The goats are attracted to the Argan fruit which grows mainly in southwestern part of Morocco and western Algeria This softening of the seeds, thanks to the goat’s digestive juices, makes the nuts useable for producing argan oil. Unfortunately, the animals are now abused. To keep the goats from jumping down, the herders tie them to the tree branches for hours, until the tourists stop coming. In summer, when temperatures can soar to the hundreds, the goats get very tired and dehydrated.

It did at least involve the people who would have been out of a livelihood and allow them to continue working while improving the lives of the animals,” Bergin says.The Argan fruit is ripe in June, so the best times to see the goats climbing around in the trees will be late spring and early summer. You can see them higher in the trees at other times of the year, but the sightings aren’t as consistent. The nut of the Argania tree is used to produce argan oil, which is used for cosmetic and culinary purposes. So while you might think the farmers of Argania trees would discourage this fruit consumption by these hairy creatures, many landowners actually encourage them to consume the fruit for a couple of reasons. The first is argan oil. Animal rights activists started a serious campaign against this procedure, but the herders argue that it’s their only way to make a living and feed these animals. Especially during these last years of drought in Morocco. Where to See Goats on Trees in Morocco