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Wild Mountain Goats Take Over Streets of Welsh Town as Residents Self-Isolate Amid Coronavirus

As people across the globe are remaining indoors during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, animals are taking the place of the residents in a town in northern Wales.

Herds of mountain goats overtook the town of Llandudno over the weekend, sauntering down the coastal town’s streets and munching on grass on lawns and in hedges.

Photos and videos of the goats show the animals roaming everywhere from car parks to sidewalks as they explore, unbothered by humans.

“The goats live on the hill overlooking the town,” Llandudno resident Carl Triggs told CNN. “They stay up there, very rarely venturing into the street.”

Christopher Furlong/Getty Kashmiri goats in Llandudno, Wales

Christopher Furlong/Getty Kashmiri goats in Llandudno, Wales

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Another resident, Mark Richards, told the outlet that while the goats sometimes venture to the Great Orme, a large a limestone headland in the area, they rarely come close to town, let alone its streets.

“They sometimes come to the foot of the Great Orme in March, but this year they are all wandering the streets in town as there are no cars or people,” Richards said.

“They are becoming more and more confident with no people,” he added to CNN, joking that he no longer needs to cut his hedge thanks to the goats’ munching.

Local police told CNN that if the goats do happen to wander toward civilization, “they usually make their own way back” to their hill.

Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Kashmiri goats in Llandudno, Wales

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According to Llandudno’s website, the goats are a specific breed called Kashmiri goats, which are ancestors of goats from Northern India.

The website adds that while there is a stereotype that goats will eat anything, Kashmiri goats prefer to graze on elder, gorse, hawthorn, bracken, bramble, ivy, stinging nettles and privet.

Wales, like the rest of the U.K., is currently on a stay at home order in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, the U.K. has at least 25,150 confirmed cases of the contagious respiratory virus, with 1,789 deaths.

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