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The Altai Mountain goat is a breed of domestic goat bred for wool production. The breed was developed over the time between 1944 and 1982 in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic region of the Soviet Union, by cross-breeding the Don goat with local goats for a high wool yield.

Appearance
Nannies weigh 41 to 44kg (90 to 97lb) while billies weigh 65 to 70kg (143 to 155lb). Altai Mountain goats are black in color at a young age, and change to dark brown or grey as they age. A distinctive feature of an Altai Mountain goat is the length and volume of the wool they can grow, which is 3-4 times more than the local goats in the region.

Origin
The breed was first introduced in the Altai Republic region of the Altai Mountains. The breed was slowly developed between 1944 and 1982 by cross-breeding the Don goat with goats local to the region. The aim of the development of the breed was to create a goat with high wool production which could withstand the severe weather conditions and harsh winters of Siberia.

Reproduction and care
The Altai Mountain goat was originally bred to increase the amount of wool available per goat. To this day they are bred to increase the population, which grew almost 30 percent in a year at the project's peak. Due to their selective breeding for climate tolerance, Altai Mountain goats can be kept on pasture year-round.

South African project
In 1997, approximately 500 Altai Mountain goats were released in South Africa by Sentrachem, a South African agricultural chemical company. The goal of this project was to cross-breed the Altai Mountain goats with indigenous goats to make owning goat flocks more profitable by producing a breed that had a high yield of both meat and cashmere. This would help spur the agricultural production in South Africa and bolster the fiber and Cashmere wool industry. Altai Mountain goats have lower quality cashmere than indigenous South African goats and a higher live weight. When cross-bred with the indigenous goats, the goats are expected to have a higher meat and cashmere yield (around 600g of brown cashmere ), increasing profitability of goat herds.