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
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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