P.A. hiker killed by mountain goat

Sequim Gazette staff

A 63-year-old Port Angeles man was killed by an aggressive mountain goat Saturday afternoon while hiking near Klahhane Ridge with his wife and their friend.

Robert H. Boardman was trying to shoo the full-grown buck away to protect his wife, Susan Chadd, and their friend Pat Willits, hikers said. The trio had stopped for lunch.

The mountain goat gored Boardman in the thigh and stood over the injured man until a group of hikers finally were able to scare it away, witnesses said.

Park staff were on the scene shortly after the incident and provided emergency medical assistance until a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived, park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.

Boardman was airlifted to Olympic Medical Center, where he was

pronounced dead, she said.

Park rangers found the mountain goat, which had blood on it, and shot it. The mountain goat was transported to Monroe where it was examined by a veterinary pathologist, Maynes said.

Maynes said people have reported a mountain goat following or approaching them in the area but it isn't known if all the reports could be attributed to the same mountain goat that killed Boardman.

The attack is believed to be the first time a person died from an animal in the park's 72-year history, she said.

Klahhane Ridge is located near Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, about 17 miles south of Port Angeles.