Welcome, dear reader, to Mob Menagerie.

We’re kicking things off today with a relatively new entry in our animal canon. This horned screamer was added to Minecraft in the first part of the Caves & Cliffs update, and patrols the highest parts of the world. Do you know who we’re talking about? That’s right – the star of our first Mob Menagerie column is
the goat!


Goats spawn during the daytime in groups of two or three in the uppermost reaches of mountain biomes – that means snowy slopes, jagged peaks, and frozen peaks. Generally, they just hang around in these inhospitable places, munching on what grass they can find and leaping over obstacles.

Warning: when goats see other creatures, they can get a little ornery – and a small number are particularly unfriendly. They’ll charge and ram any intruders in an attempt to scare them off. If that intruder is you, then here’s my advice – keep an eye on the goat, and as soon as it lowers its head and starts stomping, move out of the way. The goat won’t notice, and will charge at the place where you were, rather than the place where you are.

If you don’t move out of the way in time, you’ll be knocked back a huge distance. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the terrain you’ll tend to encounter goats in is rather precipitous, and there’s every chance you’ll be knocked off the mountain entirely. Which hurts.


Goats, as I’m sure you know, exist in the real world too. They’re actually a type of antelope which was domesticated about 10,000 years ago in what is now Iran. Since then, humans have been raising them for milk, meat, fur and skins.

The total world population of goats is about a billion, according to the United Nations, and this is largely because they’re fairly easy to look after. They’re highly curious creatures, and will taste just about anything that remotely resembles a plant to see if it’s worth eating – including cardboard, clothing, and paper.

As well as curiosity, goats are known for their agility – able to climb and balance in precarious situations. They often climb trees, and are notorious for being able to escape almost any enclosure – often just for fun. In some studies, they’ve been found to be as intelligent as dogs, even asking humans for help solving puzzles.

In Minecraft, our goat sounds are maximally authentic – recorded from real goats.



In 1.19, goats now drop goats horns. There are 8 horn sounds. They include:

• Admire
• Dream
• Yearn
• Call
• Ponder
• Seek
• Sing
• Feel

Each goat horn has its own unique sound when played, but all goat horns you pick up will have a cooldown. Even if you did not use it.

Goats can also be milked for regular milk. I'm disappointed about the fact that we don't have goat milk and only cow milk.
So head on to the mountains to listen to a melody of screaming goats.