If you've ever visited a petting zoo before, then you've probably gotten up close and personal with a number of friendly and furry animals. While these interactions are often wholesome, they can be markedly different from encounters with animals in the wild.
On the touronsofnationalparks (@touronsofnationalparks) Instagram page, a user posted shocking footage of a pair of tourists getting a little too close to a few mountain goats in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota.
While the video shows what appear to be somewhat docile goats, the encounter could certainly have ended much differently. As the original poster noted, South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks has outlawed feeding and harassing wild mountain goats.
BBC News reported in 2010 that a hiker was gored by a mountain goat while he was making his way through the Klahhane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington. Despite being transported to a nearby hospital, 63-year-old Robert Boardman later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
Following the incident with Boardman, the mountain goat was located by park rangers and euthanized. According to officials, the goat in question had developed a pattern of interacting with park visitors.
According to the National Park Service, mountain goats should be avoided because they can often be unpredictable. "Mountain goats are wild animals and capable of causing serious injury or even death," said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum in a news release. "People should always maintain a distance of at least 50 yards from any park wildlife."
Like the behavior seen in Spearfish Canyon, attempting to feed or get closer to any wild animal can unintentionally lead to severe consequences. In many cases, when a wild animal becomes too familiar with humans, it can lose its fear of us. This can lead to an increased number of encounters with the public, raising the risk of potentially harmful incidents and the euthanasia of wildlife.
In the comments section of the Instagram post, many users were quick to voice their concerns about those attempting to interact with mountain goats.
"Look, those things can roll down the sheer cliff of a mountain. Do you really think I want one to head but me?" asked one commenter.
"Stop!!!!! Back away, get in your vehicle, and leave the animals alone," exclaimed another frustrated user.
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"It's like here in Colorado. Tourists think the bears are part of a petting zoo. It's ridiculous," shared a third commenter.
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