PORT ANGELES, Wash. - A 63-year-old hiker was fatally injured in Olympic National Park in an encounter with a mountain goat.
The park service says Robert H. Boardman of Port Angeles was hurt Saturday as he hiked near the park's Klahhane Ridge and died hours later at a Port Angeles hospital.
The Peninsula Daily News reports that Boardman was with friends when a goat appeared and moved toward them. When the goat began to behave aggressively, Boardman tried to shoo it away but it attacked him, goring him in the thigh.
Boardman was airlifted to a Port Angeles hospital but could not be revived.
Rangers tracked down and killed the animal, which will be analyzed by a veterinary pathologist.
"I am deeply saddened by this tragedy," said Karen Gustin, Olympic National Park Superintendent. "My thoughts are with (Boardman's) family and friends."
Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said although there are about eight goats in the area, there has not been an incident like this before.