# Relocating Mountain Goats, I Feel Sorry For These Guys



## SeaBreeze (Nov 8, 2018)

> Mountain goats  from British Columbia and Alaska were moved to the Cascade Mountains by a  hunting group in the 1920s, and they began multiplying exponentially,  increasing from the original 12 to thousands by the 1980s
> A controversy  between state officials and environmentalists surrounded the presence of  the animals, which escalated exponentially after a deadly incident at  Olympic State Park in 2010
> Both male and  female mountain goats, weighing 180 and 155 pounds, respectively, sport  horns, and their potential for aggression is high, especially as they  attempt to satisfy their craving for minerals and salt
> While typically  docile, that mineral craving can pose a security threat for hikers,  even when they stay on the trail (and some don’t), and the park alone  encompasses 1,442 square miles
> Of the  approximate 700 mountain goats located on the Olympic Peninsula, only  half will ultimately be relocated to their native habitat; 11 of them  made up the first wave, transported by helicopter, crate, truck and  ferry







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