Washington National Park Reviews Goat Options After 2010 Attack

Four years after a mountain goat fatally gored a hiker in Olympic National Park, officials are looking at ways to manage mountain goats to protect public safety and the environment.

The National Park Service is evaluating different approaches, including capturing and relocating the goats to the Washington Cascades, increasing hazing activities, killing them, or some combination of options.

A 63-year-old Port Angeles hiker was fatally gored in October 2010 by a mountain goat on a popular trail in Olympic National Park.

The goats were introduced to the Olympic Mountains in the 1920s, before the park was established. About 300 roam the park.

Park officials used helicopters in the 1980s to capture and remove the goats because they were damaging the park’s fragile alpine areas and soil.