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Goat fans united in New York this past Saturday for an event that combined small ruminants, competition, and environmental conservation: The Great Goat Graze-Off.
The unusual event took place at Riverside Park in Manhattan, and was the start of the sixth summer of the parks seasonal goat-grazing contest.
Five goats named Romeo, Mallomar, Butterball, Kash, and Rufus faced off in what organizers called a “professional eating event,” each attempting to chow down the most mugwort, an invasive weed that regularly overwhelms parts of the park. According to ABC7/WABC, the animals were positioned north of the Ten Mile Playground along the West Side Highway, where they had five minutes to demonstrate their appetite for environmental stewardship.
The event was emceed by George Shea, the well-known host of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and chair of Major League Eating, adding a familiar flair of competitive intensity to the animal-centric affair. While no official winner was named at press time, park officials teased that newcomer Kash might have had an edge, jokingly crediting his “stronger jaw” — though they admitted the goats’ independent spirits made outcomes unpredictable.
The goats are part of Riverside Park Conservancy’s broader “Goatham” initiative, an eco-friendly effort to control invasive plant species without chemical inputs or heavy machinery. Since the program’s inception, goats have played a key role in restoring native plant life on the park’s steep, overgrown slopes. According to New York Post coverage, last year’s herd successfully cleared a section of the park around West 143rd Street, removing harmful growth like poison ivy and mugwort and making way for the planting of native trees.
This year, organizers decided to take the seasonal tradition to a new level. “We were thinking about what would really be the best way to welcome them to the park this year, and the idea of letting them do what they do best came to mind,” said Merritt Birnbaum, President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, in an interview with New York Post. “It’s just a taste of what is to come for their summer.”
Beyond the laughs and cheering spectators, the Graze-Off served as a creative way to highlight sustainable urban land management. The goats will remain in Riverside Park throughout the summer, focused on a two-acre plot near West 143rd Street.
With the success of this quirky debut, it’s likely the Great Goat Graze-Off could become an annual NYC tradition — equal parts conservation and community fun.
