Thieves are often compared to animals - jackals, magpies and so on. Rarely do they take the form of farmyard livestock.
So it's notable that police in Nigeria have reportedly detained a goat on suspicion of attempted robbery.
The animal was brought to police by a vigilante group in Kwara State, who said they'd found two men trying to steal a Mazda.
One of the men had escaped, but the witnesses claim that the other suspect turned himself into a goat, which they duly captured and took to the police.
Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper reports that the animal was paraded in front of journalists by state police as an "armed robbery suspect".
However, a police spokesperson later told the BBC that the goat was in fact being held in case its owner turned up.
Belief in witchcraft is well-known in Nigeria, where some believe that sorcerers can transform themselves into animals.
The question remains: did the suspect intend to turn himself into something a bit harder to catch?
