Mountain goat kills hiker

I was sent the message sans link to it. Good thing all we have on our summits are Gray Jays!

Brian

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PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Rangers in Washington state suspect an encounter with a mountain goat killed a 63-year-old hiker in Olympic National Park.

The park service says Robert H. Boardman, of Port Angeles, was hurt Saturday as he hiked near the park's Klahhane Ridge and died hours later at a Port Angeles hospital.

The Peninsula Daily News reported that Boardman, his wife, Susan Chadd, and their friend Pat Willits, had stopped for lunch at an overlook when the goat appeared and moved toward them. Apparently, the goat had begun to act aggressively and Boardman tried shooing him away.

As he was trying to leave the area, the Peninsula Daily News reported that the goat attacked him, goring him in the thigh. The animal then hovered over Boardman as he lay bleeding.

An off-duty park ranger tried to get the animal away, first by shaking a safety blanket at it and then by pelting it with rocks.

Rangers later tracked down and killed the animal, which will be analyzed by a veterinary pathologist.

According to the Peninsula Daily News, some 300 mountain goats live in Olympic National Park, and while some aggression among the goats has been observed, there have been no similar incidents to the one that happened on Saturday.

More detail: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013189753_olympicpark18m.html

Doug

B the Hiker said:

I was sent the message sans link to it. Good thing all we have on our summits are Gray Jays!

Brian

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Wow...that's quite an interesting story. You just never know.

And what do you MEAN...just Gray Jays? I've been taunted, stared at, and STALKED by these mean birdies for my SNICKERS BARS!!

The goats in the Olympics were introduced in the 1920s and efforts have been made to get rid of them off and on since, as they have decimated the alpine vegetation.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/10/the_sad_irony_of_a_mountain_go.php

http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1995/9503210076.asp

Interesting commentary in the NY Times, Goat vs. Man:

With every passing year, the goats lost whatever fear they had of man. This was aggravated, of course, by knuckleheads who insist on feeding wild animals, which breaks down barriers.

But all of this was our handiwork. The goats were introduced to give humans something to hunt. A sport. A game. A chase. For almost 100 years, we never feared them. Now, they’ve stopped fearing us, and are even pursuing us. Playing God has its consequences.

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