Wild goats which caused a sensation after filling the empty streets of a seaside town are flocking in record numbers, after not getting contraception due to Covid.
Videos of the animals roaming deserted streets emerged during the first national lockdown in Wales and were widely shared all around the world.
The Kashmiri goats have since been venturing down into the North Wales town of Llandudno in search of food, which is scarce in Spring.
They normally get contraceptive injections to manage their numbers but due to the pandemic this did not happen last year.
Now they are back and exploring further than ever, reaching the far side of town during Wales’ latest lockdown.
Officials are said to be worried they may set up in new territory.
Louise Emery, who represents the Great Orme area of Llandudno on Conwy council, said while the goats normally visited the town in the spring to get food, there were “quite a number now”.
She said there were concerns for their safety as some of the goats were venturing further than before.
“There seems to be a rogue herd of goats that have wandered across the town into a completely new area where they have never been… that’s a concern,” she told the BBC.
“It’s a great concern at night time, actually, because they tend to wander more at night and the roads have been very quiet.
“Drivers can literally come round the corner and be faced with eight or nine goats in the road.”
In recent weeks, the goats have been spotted in the Craig y Don area of Llandudno, more than two miles from their home on the Great Orme.
Sally Pidcock, warden of the Great Orme country park, said she was hopeful the goats would eventually return home.
She and her team hope to count the goats and give them contraceptive injections later in the year, if the pandemic conditions allow.
She told the BBC: “The majority of the goats travelling through Llandudno and going quite some way from the Great Orme are billy goats.
“Obviously if it’s just billy goats that are straying, then by the time of the rut, when they become interested in females again, you would hope that they would be making their way back.
“But this year, the goats have been emboldened by the fact that there are so few people around.
“That’s a bit more worrying because it might become a bit more complicated for them to find their way back.”
Conwy council said it was monitoring the situation, and appealed to people to look out for the goats, saying anyone who sees one of the animals in distress should call the RSPCA.
