Herd of goats will head to Riverside Park to munch on invasive plants

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
wabc

RIVERSIDE PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- Some out of town visitors are being enlisted to help maintain a New York City park - namely a herd of goats.

The Riverside Park Conservancy says it will bring 24 goats to the park on May 21.

They will be eating invasive plants that are normally difficult to remove. The goats are coming from a local farm in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

The animals will be deployed in a hard-to-access area in the northern part of the park that the Conservancy dubbed 'Goatham', playing on New York City's nickname of Gotham which means goat town in Old English.

"They will take up residency for the summer on sloped terrain that is rife with invasive plants," the Conservancy said. "Since goats are naturally effective weed whackers, putting than to work in Goatham is like treating them to an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's hearty for the goats and good for the environment."

The goats will be in Riverside Park through the end of August.

The Prospect Park Alliance used goats in a similar mission in 2016.

----------

* More Manhattan news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube