Comments on: Mountain goat kills hiker in Washington state; animal known to be aggressive

By: bob doucette

bob doucette — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:22:50 +0000

You know, I never felt like those goats were dangerous at all. They seemed comfortable around humans (probably has a lot to do with the high level of human traffic on Quandary’s east slopes). I know that many animals during mating season get more easily agitated, but my only “bad” encounter with a hooved animal was that buffalo in June. And even that beast turned away before any damage was done. It sounds like there was something about this particular goat, some anomoly, that made it dangerous.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:54:21 +0000

Doesn’t it make you think about how close we were to that group of goats on the way up Quandary? We took pictures and stood around watching them. It never occurred to me that they might be aggressive. From my vantage point, they seemed to be very aware of our presence and kept moving about to maintain a distance from us. I’m not sure exactly what I would have done if one of them would have charged.

By: Bob D

Bob D — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:33:03 +0000

I could see that being the case, but even the ranger quoted in this story remarked how strange this particular incident was. Just weird and random. But they later went on to say that there are signs posted warning hikers to keep their distance. This should be a good example as to why, I suppose.

By: will harris

will harris — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:58:02 +0000

Male goats in domestic herds will be agressive when the females are in heat. They are very protective and domineering.