Investigation Continues Into Fatal Goring Of Hiker

Olympic National Park (WA)
Hiker Fatally Injured In Encounter With Mountain Goat

Hiker Robert Boardman, 63, of Port Angeles died on Saturday afternoon after sustaining injuries in an encounter with a mountain goat. The incident remains under investigation. Park staff were on scene shortly after the initial report and provided emergency medical assistance. Boardman was transported by Coast Guard helicopter to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, where he was pronounced dead. Rangers responding to the incident were able to locate the goat, confirm its identity, and kill it. The goat will be transported to a veterinary pathologist for full analysis. The incident occurred on Klahhane Ridge, which is located near Hurricane Ridge, about 17 miles south of Port Angeles.

October 18, 2010 at 9:10 PM
Mountain goat that fatally injured man known to be troublesome

By Jack Broom

A friend of the Port Angeles man fatally injured by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park on Saturday says the animal that killed Robert Boardman was "a rogue goat that someone should have done something about sooner."

Tim McNulty, of Sequim, said hikers have repeatedly described a particularly aggressive male goat intimidating people on the Switchback Trail near Klahhane Ridge. "He's a very aggressive billy, a male, who blocks the trail, approaches people and doesn't want to take 'no' for an answer," McNulty said Monday.

Another friend of the victim, Tom Bihn, of Port Angeles, said he personally had several unsettling encounters with the goat he believes injured Boardman, 63. "He aggressively charged toward me," said Bihn. "He charges up to you, stops six to 12 feet away, snorts and scratches the ground to indicate he's in charge."

...Margaret Bangs, a local doctor, told the newspaper that she saw Boardman's wife and friend just before the incident, and they warned her not to go up because of problems with the goat.

"I looked up, and you could see him [Boardman] with two walking sticks and that goat following, just breathing down his neck," she said.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013196863_goats19m.html

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Another goat attack from this past summer.


Georgia man dies after goat attack
Published: Aug. 31, 2010 at 4:00 PM

ATHENS, Ga., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- An 88-year-old Georgia man has died a week after a goat attacked and chased him outside his home for almost an hour, authorities said.

Madison County Coroner Michelle Cleveland said Vestal Davis of Colbert died Saturday at Athens Regional Medical Center, the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald reported.

"He became paralyzed from the injuries, and that just affected the rest of his body system," Cleveland said. "He just couldn't fight that off and so he just slipped away."

A sheriff's deputy responded to a call last week from Davis's home that a man was attacked by a neighbor's goat.

"Mr. Davis stated that he went outside to his shop and looked up, and a goat charged him, knocking him to the ground. He stated that every time he moved to get up, the goat would attack him again," the deputy's report said.

The attack allegedly went on for about an hour until the goat walked inside the shop and Davis got into his home to call 911, the deputy said.

A new Hitchcock movie? "The Goats"

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Old Dude

Quote
mrcondron
A new Hitchcock movie? "The Goats"

I'm just wondering if there was a chicken involved.

Other mountain goat attacks in Olympic Park:


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013230235_apwamountaingoatattack1stldwritethru.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013215400_goats21m.html

Olympic National Park (WA)
Investigation Continues Into Fatal Goring Of Hiker

The park is continuing foot patrols on and near Klahhane Ridge following Saturday's incident in which a 63-year-old hiker died after sustaining injuries from a mountain goat. Rangers and wildlife biologists will be walking the Switchback Trail and Klahhane Ridge area daily through the fall, closely observing other goats for any signs of aggression towards people. Throughout the summer, rangers patrolled the Klahhane Ridge area four to five times each week. During these patrols, they monitored goat behavior and talked with hikers about their observations of goat behavior. Klahhane Ridge is about 17 miles south of Port Angeles and is a popular hiking destination. It is also home to approximately eight mountain goats, some of which are quite accustomed to seeing people. “We want to be sure that no other goat is behaving aggressively towards people,” said Superintendent Karen Gustin. “Saturday’s tragic event was extremely unusual and we are doing everything we can to learn as much as possible about it and to make sure we’re doing everything we can to prevent something like this from happening again.” The goat that fatally gored Boardman was killed shortly after the incident, following positive identification by the rangers on scene. A necropsy of the goat was conducted Sunday evening by a veterinary pathologist and tissue samples were collected for full analysis. A preliminary report is expected within about a week. The incident remains under investigation.

October 27, 2010, 8:30 pm
Goat vs. Man
By TIMOTHY EGAN

... We expect bears and great white sharks to be predatory toward humans. But goats, well, their record is not exactly homicidal, and we’ve anthropomorphized them into cuddly toys with superb climbing skills.

The tragedy in the Olympics says something about what happens when people try to fine-tune the wild. The natural balance is broken.

My hiking friends have noticed the same thing. Not long ago I awoke to the clomping sound of heavy hooves to find our camp in the Cascade Mountains surrounded by goats. There were a half-dozen of them, including kids. To see goats this close was a great thrill. I reached for my camera, thinking this would be but a fleeting moment.

In years past, the closest I’d been able to get to a mountain goat, on most occasions, was about 500 yards. The pictures showed a tiny white blur. Only once, climbing to a narrow rock summit, did I come face to face with one, a big-chested billy with the sharpest of horns. He blinked first, and backed away.

In this latest encounter, I shot several close-up pictures, with the glacier-topped peaks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness as a perfect background. My heart raced: what a find! But then the goats hung around, through breakfast and then some. They licked the bushes for salt from our sweat and urine. They nudged at the packs. They came close to enough to scare us. And when we tried to shoo them, they would not leave.

Later that day, after topping a summit, we hiked into a field of furry white animals — about 20 goats in all. They gave us the what-are-you-looking-at stare, not the least bit afraid. There was something altogether strange, and not right about this sighting.


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/goat-vs-man/?hp

Olympic National Park (WA)
Investigation Into Fatal Goat Goring Continues

The preliminary investigation of the October 16th fatal mountain goat goring near Klahhane Ridge has concluded and the findings were consistent with initial accounts of the incident. Witnesses and others in the area at the time describe an aggressive male mountain goat that approached, followed and fatally gored Robert Boardman while he was hiking. Following the fatal encounter, the goat stood over Boardman until several visitors, including an off-duty National Park Service employee, succeeded in scaring off the goat. First aid and CPR were administered at the scene and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter transported Boardman to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, where he was pronounced dead. Following the incident, the goat was positively identified by park rangers and destroyed. A necropsy and comprehensive tissue analysis were conducted on the goat and preliminary results have been released. A wide range of tests, including the initial visual examination during necropsy, followed by microscopic study of the major organs and a battery of diagnostic tests, have not revealed any signs of disease or other physical abnormalities. The goat is estimated to have weighed over 350 pounds. Tests for rabies virus, encephalitis virus, plague and tularemia revealed no evidence of those diseases. Salt concentrations in the animal’s urine were within normal limits. Tissue analysis showed that the goat was in breeding condition or “rut.” Additional diagnostic tests for several diseases are still ongoing, including listeria and chronic wasting disease, as are several chemical assessments for key nutrients. Rangers and wildlife biologists conducted daily goat behavior monitoring patrols during the week of October 18th, but these have not continued since snowfall began on October 24th – nearly two feet of snow is now on the ground at Hurricane Ridge. Up to eight goats were seen in a day but there were no observations of aggressive mountain goat behavior. Some goats appeared to be habituated to human presence, but quickly moved away when people yelled or waved their arms. Patrols will resume this fall if weather and snow conditions permit. Once winter weather begins, mountain goats typically move to their winter range, which varies from herd to herd. Winter range for goats in the Hurricane/Klahhane area is primarily along a rocky, windswept ridge north and east of Klahhane Ridge. Park biologists, in collaboration with biologists from neighboring land and wildlife management agencies, have solicited and have been receiving information about mountain goat–human interactions from across the animals’ range. Park staff will incorporate all new information learned through this incident into the park’s nuisance and hazardous animal plan.

Sounds like they're too "habituated to human presence" and need some aversion training.