Second time this year — rare goat at Miller Park Zoo gives birth

San Clemente Island goat has twin kids

[April 05, 2014]  BLOOMINGTON — A rare breed of goat at Miller Park Zoo is the latest animal to give birth at the zoo. Valencia, one of the zoo's San Clemente Island goats, gave birth on March 23 to twin female kids named Cutie and Sunkist.

The goats are native to San Clemente Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of California. The goats are listed as a critically endangered heritage breed. The global population of San Clemente Island goats is around 600.

Miller Park Zoo is home to six adult San Clemente Island goats: four females — Bella, Valencia, Becca and Breeze — and two males, Poseidon and Vern. Each of the adults is 1 to 4 years old.

The captive birth of this rare goat breed is the second this year at Miller Park Zoo. Breeze gave birth to twin female kids, Dorothy and Jenny, on Jan. 27.

This is the fourth consecutive year that kids were born at Miller Park Zoo, which was the first facility in the state of Illinois to ever have a San Clemente Island goat birth. Only a small number of zoos exhibit San Clemente Island goats.

This breed of goat is relatively small but larger than dwarf breeds. They are typically red or tan with black markings.

The goat kids may be seen on exhibit in the Children's Zoo.

[Text from Miller Park Zoo news release received from Bloomington Parks & Recreation]