Olympic National Forest trail closed by aggressive goats
HOODSPORT, Wash. (AP) - Olympic National Forest officials are keeping a popular trail in Mason County closed because of aggressive mountain goats.
Rangers say hikers on the Mount Ellinor Trail near Hoodsport are to blame for feeding goats and letting them lick their hands or backpacks for salt.
The Peninsula Daily News reports up to 20 goats have been observed on the trail.
The trail has been off-limits since early July while rangers try to teach the animals not to approach people. Rangers are throwing rocks at the goats, shooting them with paintballs, sounding horns and spraying chemicals.
In October 2010 an aggressive goat fatally gored a Port Angeles man on a trail in Olympic National Park.
Angry birds, meet angry goats. Please for you to enjoy.
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Yea for the goats!
If there's a goat out there with your name on it..".............l
Once again, we see the result of people interfering with nature. If you feed wild animals, they will become aggressive toward humans, and may even stop looking for natural food sources. Providing them with food removes their natural motivation to find their own.
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Similar issue with long-term government-provided entitlements and people. As people become used to taking handouts from the government, they lose their motivation to do things for themselves. Some become masters at "gaming the system."
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@Altazi Way to bring politics into the subject matter.Â
eh, I wonder if there in there RUT! Animals become aggressive when Rutting.
what a bunch of baaaah-sturd hikers
goat- its whats for dinner!!
 @LostSoul I had goat meat once, it was really good.
The problem is minimally that people let the goats lick their hands and packs for salt. That lets people get too close, for sure, but left out of the article is the fact that hikers urinate along the trail, creating salt licks that attract the goats (and other animals too). That's what brings the goats to the trail in the first place, and what keeps them there.
Humans can't leave nothin' alone.
 @HarryReamsÂ
Yeah you gotta love it.
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People caused and issue that made goats mean.
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So people are sticking their noses in to be mean tot he goats so they stop bothering people.
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I had a problem and this guy had a solution. The solution became a problem so this guy and a solution...
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How about they let a few hunters go for a hike. Problem solved for the whopping cost of $0 to the public.
@2012 Hope and Change Where is the problem? I see it as humans doing what they aren't supposed to.
No problem with the goats. Just the government wasting money. Either close the trail for good or leave it open and let hikers deal with the problem they created.Â
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If they let some hunters go up and clear out the trouble makers it would be much cheaper than a bunch of goverment workers throwing rocks at the poor things.
 @leapfrogger  @2012 Hope and Change Hunt the goats, give the meat to charities, solve 2 issues at once. get rid of Bad goats, Feed the hungry, well for the day at least.
 @2012 Hope and Change The goats should not have to pay the price for the idiot hikers. Either leave the trail closed and leave the goats alone in their home. Or open the trail but make hikers sign a waiver that they are taking their lives in the own hands and that they need to make sure their affairs are in order. Idiocracy at it's best. The govn't wouldn't be up there "wasting money" if the stupid humans would just leave nature alone.