"In 20, a mountain goat in Olympic National Park gored a 63-year- hiker and severed an artery. Then the goat stood over the bleeding man and prevented rescuers from tending to the injury. It proved fatal."

The tragic, rare goat attack helped rekindle a dormant battle over the Olympic Peninsula mountain goats. Mountain goats are non-native. They were introduced to Olympic National Park in the 1920s by hunters. Their numbers swelled from to over 1,000 by the 1980s.

Goats moved to the North Cascades will boost a population diminished by years of overhunting, biologists say.

Attracted to hiker's sweat

"Mountain goats follow and approach hikers because they are attracted to the salt from their sweat, urine, and food. “The north Cascades is a vast landscape, that is less population-dense than Olympic National Park,” said Will Moore, a WDFW wildlife manager who specializes in mountain goats."

“We also know that the North Cascades have natural salt licks, that mountain goats depend on,” added Moore. “Because of this, they won’t rely as much on humans to provide their salt fix.”

[seattletimes.com]

[wdfw.wa.gov]