Not the kind of mammal encounter you’d want. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone being killed by a mountain goat before…
Mountain goat kills hiker
Related Articles
-
New Trip Reports – Brazil and Quebec
Two new shortish trip reports on Quebec and Brazil are on mammalwatching.com Quebec, 2013: Steve Babbs, and some notes...
-
San Angelo State Park, Texas – short note from March 2017
This is a belated update on San Angelo State Park from March 2017. Excited by Jon’s trip report from...
-
New Report – Southern California & 5 new Saki species described
A short report from Curtis Hart Southern California, 2014: Curtis Hart, 1 week & 10 species including a Desert...
-
Scientists Estimate Up to 6.7 Million Bats Dead From Fast-spreading Disease
A mysterious, fast-moving disease has now killed as many as 6.7 million bats in North America over the past...
-
New Trip Report: Vancouver Island and the Yukon
Here’s a new report from Samuel Marlin. Good to see that there are still so many mammals in spots...
-
Adirondacks, July 26-29, 2021
Just spent 3 days in the Adirondacks. It was a family trip, so only a few mammals worth reporting....
-
For Polar Bears, a Climate Change Twist
An interesting article, highlighting a number of mammals feeding on Snow Geese around Hudson. LA PÉROUSE BAY, Manitoba —...
-
Monterey Delivers Again
I was in Monterey a few weeks ago for a couple of days whale watching with Monterey Bay Whale...
Would pepper/bear spray have helped, either to run it off before the goring or after?
Quick survey. Do you carry pepper spray/have you ever used it in defense?
Me: No/No
I used it once to get some denning Raccoons out of my attic. It worked, but not before I sprayed it on my hands and into the air. It was a pretty awkward design and I can envision blinding myself instead of the bear.
John,
I don’t carry pepper spray, in part because I think the risks from wild animal attacks like this are a pretty remote possibility in most places.
I am reminded of a time I spent a week alone in N. Idaho grizzly country. Many people, including my mother, were convinced I was going to be eaten. On the last night, I awoke in my hotel room to go to the bathroom and tripped into the bedstand, head first, opening my forehead and sending me to the ER. That’s how it usually works, in my opinion: It’s the mundane things that are more likely to get you.
That said, if/when I go hiking/fly fishing in the Alaska backcountry, I would probably carry pepper spray. But not some place like Olympic NP.
What a horrible tragedy. I know every individual involved with this event – from the victim himself, his fellow hikers (all my colleagues), the rangers involved, the person performing the necropsy on the goat AND the goat himself, whom I have encountered in the trail in the same area.
I am not sure how on earth this could have been avoided, as this sort of thing happens in nature. I would not be surprised that the harrassment the goat received may have been a root cause for his aggressive disposition, but I think it needs to be said for the record, if it were up to ONP, the goats would be completely eradicated. They are an invasive pest in the Olympics and are wreaking havoc on many levels to the local ecosystem.
The goats are particularly cute and charismatic to the general public and the park had to stop its eradication of the goats due to public pressure. So I am not sure really what the park could have done otherwise. I am interested in others’ perspectives.
Having worked with a closely related species in captivity – chamois I’m not surprised that a well placed horn can cause enough damage to kill some one. Has anyone considered that this was territorial behavior with a male defending his turf?
what a pity
I have never carried pepper spray, but I have carried a 12 gauge in Alaska on occasion. I never used it. Even if I had pepper spray in that situation, I don’t know I would have thought to use it in time. I have never been really intimidated by mountain goats, I guess I’ll give them a little more respect in the future.
Curtis Hart
I saw the signs up about this animal in August and just laughed. I too will give Goats and warning signs more respect in the future. I took pepper spray with me when I was in the Yukon. Didn’t use it, but it was a psychological comfort at least.
Jon