Ont. family looking for 4 goats after predator shatters homestead shelter

A Skead family is searching for four missing pet goats after a bear or large animal shattered their shelter's door on Monday.

A northern Ontario family is appealing to the public for assistance in locating four missing pet goats following a suspected predator attack on their homestead shelter earlier this week.

The incident was discovered on Monday morning on the family’s hobby farm in Skead, about 30 kilometres northeast of Sudbury, by Jamie-Lee Thibert after her children had left for school. Thibert initially noticed several goats were outside of their enclosure, a sight that prompted immediate concern.

Homestead shelter door torn apart

Upon investigation, she immediately discovered the source of the breach – the shelter door had been violently destroyed.

“The structure door was completely torn apart. It was just like shattered in pieces,” Thibert said.

“We have a quail coop kind of leaned up against that door as well, and that was completely shoved over.”

While three of the seven goats were quickly located on the property, four remain missing despite extensive search efforts by the family.

“We’ve found like fresh feces. But no sign of them so far,” said Thibert.

The family’s current theory is that a bear or another large animal attempted to break into the shelter, spooking the goats and causing them to flee. The family told CTV News that no evidence has been found to suggest any alternative explanation.

Extensive search for ‘pet’ goats underway

The Thibert family has conducted numerous searches across their property and the surrounding area in hopes of finding their animals, whom they consider cherished pets.

“I kind of assumed that they just got spooked and we went out looking for them and honestly, it’s been unsuccessful,” Thibert said Wednesday afternoon.

“We were up for hours yesterday (Tuesday) morning and then went out again in the afternoon, and then later in the evening, and then I went out again this morning (Wednesday) after the kids got on the bus.”

Among the missing are two myotonic fainting goats, a breed known for a condition where their muscles stiffen, simulating a faint.

“She does, like, stiffen up, sometimes fall over, but not very often,” Thibert said, adding the youngest of the missing goats, named Potato, has never experienced a fainting episode.

Community asked to check sheds, review trail cameras

Expressing a mix of worry and hope, Thibert believes the goats’ natural instincts will help them survive.

“They’re pretty intelligent and aside from predators, I think they would be able to survive,” she said, though she conceded uncertainty about how long they could last on their own.

“You know, they make it through 40 below weather in the winter like, they’re pretty resilient, but, so, I don’t know, I think they would be looking for a type of shelter,” Thibert added.

Noting that goats often travel in pairs or as a herd, the family expects the four missing animals to be together.

The Thiberts are now asking the community for help. The family is requesting that residents in the Skead area check any accessible sheds or outbuildings on their properties where the goats might seek refuge and to review any footage from personal trail cameras that may have captured the animals.

The appeal is deeply personal for the Thiberts, who emphasized that the goats are not livestock.

This is not the first time goats have escaped from the property; in the past, escapees have always turned up nearby. Their previous adventures have even led the community to jokingly refer to them as the ‘Skead mascots.’ That history provides a glimmer of hope that the current situation will have a similar resolution, with the entire community now invested in their safe return.

“I think the entire community is kind of like looking for them and concerned about them,” said Thibert.