TWO baby goats were unexpectedly born on the East Cliff, with one now buddying up to the owner’s Staffie.

Owner of the herd, Mark Jackson, said the mother Ella was showing no signs of being pregnant and he believed she was producing milk as her previous new-born was still suckling.

However, much to his surprise, Ella gave birth two to kids, Ivanhoe and Icarus, with the latter rejected by the mother.

He is now living with another person associated with the goats and becoming firm friends with her pet Staffie.

Mark said: “We had separated all the mums from the boys after they had given birth but one of the boys was an early developer and baffled all of us.

“We know who the father is and missed him in the separation by a couple of weeks.

“It was accidental, but he’s not related to the mother which is good.

“Sometimes mothers reject them for no apparent reason. Either she has not got enough milk, or the baby is too small.”

Mark said there were now just under 40 goats in their herd, with some soon to be moved to West Cliff.

“The scheme is going very well. It’s not going to be a quick one- or two-year project, it is long term until the other plants re-establish themselves.

“You can’t see from the roadside how much they have actually cleared, and everybody seems happy.”

The new kids would be put on the cliff in May time and reunited. In the meantime, one will feed off the mother’s milk while the other will be bottle-fed.