TORONTO – The Portland International Airport in Oregon has hired 40 goats and a llama to munch away at invasive plants around the airstrip.
While the goats take care of plants (blackberries, thistle and Scotch broom), the llama’s main job is to keep predators like coyotes away, the Associated Press reported.
The Port of Portland said using the animals eliminates the need for spraying herbicides or removing the weeds manually.
The goats are kept from escaping by a portable, solar-powered electric fence. They are being leased to the airport and will work at the airport for 25 days, the Associated Press reported.
READ MORE: 40,000 ‘foot selfies’ taken as travellers bid farewell to Portland airport’s carpet
“It should take the goats just over 3 weeks (about 25 days) to clear the area in which they are currently fenced,” Kama Simmonds, an airport spokesperson told NBC News.
The goats join other working animals at the airport: dogs that chase away geese on undeveloped properties near the airfield and 29 bee hives that feed on native flowering plants.
Llamas can keep coyotes away?
Apparently llamas are effective for predator control.
According to the International Llama Association (ILA), sheep and goat producers have been using llamas as guards in North America since the early ’80s.
The association notes that llamas have proven to be very effective against dogs and specifically coyotes.
According to an ILA study, more than 50 per cent of farmers using llamas to guard sheep reported zero livestock lost to a predator.
–with a file from the Associated Press
Comments