MAGIC MOUNTAIN'S NEW KID IS GETTING BIG RIDE.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

Somebody's taking a lot of kidding at Magic Mountain with a recent discovery in the barnyard.

Parks spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said Monday that she and co-worker Pam Bugbee were surprised during a recent tour of the park-animal pen at Six Flags California Magic Mountain. Sydney, one of the Nubian goats on the animal farm, unexpectedly had given birth.

``It was literally hours old,'' Carpenter said. ``I asked her which goat was the mother and she said all the new goats were sterile.''

Sydney, barely a year old herself, is a recent arrival from the Los Angeles County Fair. This is her first baby and the park staff said she's taken to mothering very well.

``They thought she was too young to be pregnant,'' Carpenter said. ``Guess she had fun at the fair.''

The park is inviting the public to submit names for the baby and will award two tickets to the park to whomever comes up with the winning moniker. Entries should be sent to Name the Baby Kid Contest, Six Flags Magic Mountain, PO Box 5500, Valencia, CA 91385, postmarked no later than Feb. 14. The winner will be notified by mail.

The white-and-sand-color kid, which could easily be called ``Fearless,'' scampered over a large boulder placed in the middle of the petting zoo compound. At times slipping and sliding, she launched herself off the rock and ran at breakneck speed around the legs of visitors before jumping back up to the summit.

While Sydney bleated at her little one, the kid's playful antics had animal caregivers a little concerned and amused at the same time.

``She does these back flip twists off the rock,'' said Bugbee, instinctively holding out a hand to catch her. ``She's growing so fast, she used to fit under mama, now she has to nurse with her legs spread out like a giraffe.''

She's also the first kid for Patrick McKenna, supervisor of the animal compound, who has been at the park for just over seven years.

``We'll keep her inside and warm with the winter weather and mama will get more food so she can nurse,'' McKenna said. She's already had a few nibbles of what will become her normal diet: goat grain, alfalfa and Bermuda grass.

The little goat weighed about 5 pounds at birth and will be full-grown in a year, when she'll stand about 3 feet high at the shoulder. Once the park veterinarian gives approval, Sydney and her baby will join the dozens of Nubian and pygmy goats, pigs, geese, rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals in the petting barnyard, which is open weekends and holidays during park hours.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color in SAC edition only) Sydney, a Nubian goat, watches over her playful young kid Monday in the barnyard at Magic Mountain in Valencia. The park is holding a contest to name the baby.

(2 -- ran in SAC edition only) Magic Mountain is inviting the public to submit names for the park's new kid and will award two tickets to the park to whomever comes up with the winning moniker.

David Crane/Staff Photographer