Selfies with mountain goats are not cool. That’s the message from Idaho Fish and Game. Officials are stressing the “wild” part of wild animal after receiving reports of hikers getting up close and personal with the wooly critters.
You can find mountain goats on hiking trails in parts of Idaho, including the Panhandle. In the past few years at Scotchman Peak, goats have attacked hikers. One person was gored in the leg. Another got bit and needed stitches. In both cases, the hikers let the goats lick their legs before the incidents.
Yes, you read that right, the goats were licking their legs. Mountain goats really like salt. They’ll lick your sweaty hands or legs and will chew on sweaty straps of backpacks, which can attract the animals. And, unpleasant as this sounds, don’t urinate near the trail, because urine is salty, and the goats … you get the idea.
Some encounters have been more deadly: One hiker in Washington died after being gored by a mountain goat.
So if you’ve mistakenly brought your can of Morton up to the hills, what can you do? Mountain goats get aggressive around food and if they have kids in their herd. If they do come at you, Fish and Game has the following advice:
1. Yell and make a lot of noise.
2. Try to look as big as possible to intimidate the goat.
3. Do your best to scare them away.
4. Don’t feed them.
5. Don’t leave your sweaty backpack laying around.
6. Do not let them lick your legs.
7. Don’t try to take selfies with goats.
Fish and Game says this not only helps keep you safe, but it keeps the goats from getting used to, or habituated to, humans. Once that happens, officials have to either relocate or kill the animals.
Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio
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