Mountain goats in Olympic National Park have developed a taste for human urine, causing problems for the park’s visitors. Hikers appear to be聽attracting goats by聽, creating what park officials call聽“long, linear salt licks,” and drawing goats聽from miles away. The animals聽don’t normally wander near humans, but they can be deadly when agitated. A 370-pound male聽聽a man hiking in Olympic last October. On Monday, park officials released a multi-part plan to keep goats and people separated, including restrictions on trail use and a recommendation that hikers pee at least 200 yards from any trail. They’ll also be harassing goats with air horns and rubber pellet guns to “re-instill a pattern of avoidance of humans by goats.” So far this year, there have been no goat-human conflicts, although a man reported being stalked by a large goat in June.聽
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