TheAngora orAnkara[a] is a Turkishbreed ofdomesticated goat. It produces the lustrous fibre known asmohair. It is widespread in many countries of the world. Many breeds derive from it, among them theIndian Mohair, theSoviet Mohair, theAngora-Don of the Russian Federation and thePygora in the United States.[4]: 358
The origin of the Angora is not known.[5]: 73 The earliest Western description may be that published in 1555 byPierre Belon,[6]: 12 who while travelling fromHeraclea toKonya in southern Turkey had seen goats with snow-white "... wool so delicate that one would judge it finer than silk ...".[7]: 296r
Angora goats were depicted on thereverse of the Turkish 50lira banknote from 1938 to 1952.[8]
In 1960 there were over 6 million Angora goats in Turkey; the population subsequently dropped sharply.[4]: 357 In 2004 the total goat population of the country was approximately 7.2 million; of these, just over 5% were of Angora stock, while the remainder were hair goats.[9]: 21 Aconservation programme for the Angora was established in 2003.[4]: 357
The goats are normally white, but may also be black, brown or grey
The Angora is a moderately small goat, standing about50 cm at thewithers.[4]: 357 It is slender, elegant and light-framed;[3] the head is small, with semi-lop ears. It is usually horned; in billies the horns are commonly long, twisted and strong.[4]: 357 With the exception of the face and legs, the animal is entirely covered in a coat of long ringlets of fine and lustrousmohair.[3] This is not goat hair as seen on other breeds, but the down or undercoat which, in this breed only, grows much longer than the outer hair coat. The face and coat are normally white, but – particularly in southern Turkey – black, brown and grey animals also occur.[4]: 357
The goats are reared either formohair or for theirgoat's meat.[4]: 357 Mohair is not as fine ascashmere, but yields are much higher. Unlike cashmere, which is obtained by combing the coat of the goat, mohair is obtained byshearing; this is commonly done twice per year.[4]: 357 In 2010 approximately half of all mohair production was in South Africa; Argentina andLesotho were also major producers, followed by the United States, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.[10]: 8
In some other countries the Angora is reared for its meat, which is succulent and tender, and which in the early twentieth century was described as the best of its kind in the world.[4]: 357
^Transboundary breed summary: Goat / Angora. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2021.
