From the time they are born, learn quickly to stand, walk and run. Nature provides them that so they can run away from predators. But as soon as they walk, baby goats are the best mountain climbers. Hopping, jumping up and down, baby goats are made for the mountains, rocky mountains. Steep, rocky slopes are their natural home, and predators can’t keep up with the goats in their natural home.
Of course goats eat everything in sight, so the mountain areas they inhabit tend to be bare of vegetation. For food, the goats have to venture outside the confines of their rocky terrain and risk meeting other animals who may want to eat them. The natural balance is maintained with the help of wolves and coyotes, mountain lions and maybe a panther or two. And others.
3,000 years ago some people got the brilliant idea (I’m being sarcastic) of taking goats off the mountains and herding them for “an easy life.” When these people got hungry, they would just eat the goats and whatever fruits, nuts and vegetables they found on their wanderings. Soon however, the land of plenty was largely becoming desert, hence the desertification of Africa and the Middle East.
scape is landscape.
“scape” is also “escape.”
Somebody had to take the blame.
The goats of the landscape became the scapegoats. Of course it was the irresponsible humans who were the cause of the desertification, but they needed scapegoats. And they didn’t want to halt their lazy irresponsible lifestyle, so they continued using their land-scapegoats to eat up everything in sight.