AGGRESSIVE mountain goats at a national park became so addicted to human urine and sweat that they killed a hiker.

Robert Boardman, 63, was killed in an incident involving the animal at Olympic National Park in Washington State back in October 2010.

He, his wife Susan Chadd, and their pal Pat Willits encountered the animal while hiking on one of the park’s trails and he tried to shoo the beast away.

Chadd and Willits didn’t see the goat attack but heard Robert shout in pain, according to the Peninsula Daily News.

Jessica Baccus, who was hiking on the same trail, said: “The mountain goat was terribly aggressive. It wouldn’t move. It stared us down.”

Medics frantically tried to resuscitate avid hiker Robert before he was airlifted to hospital in Port Angeles where he was pronounced dead.

The beast, which was known for its aggressive behavior, was killed by rangers.

The goat population in the Olympic Peninsula skyrocketed to 700 in 2010 but the park lacked salt – an essential mineral for the animals.

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Curious goats approached humans to see if they could smell the sweat on the clothes and searched for spots where humans may have urinated.

Barb Maynes, a spokesperson for the national park, said the animals are attracted to rocks where hikers may have urinated.

Park officials said goats became a “nuisance” as they would dig at the soil and trample on plants, the Daily Beast revealed.

Environmentalists and wildlife groups mulled over plans to protect the ecosystem, including the option of culling the goats.

'NUISANCE' BEASTS

Some goats were shot with a tranquilizer, blindfolded, and airlifted to areas such as the North Cascades where populations were declining.

Around 381 of the 725 goats were removed during the first part of the operation, according to its plans.

Rich Harris, of the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department, said: “Blindfolding animals is pretty routine for work like this – it calms animals down when they can’t see what’s going on.

“And serves to protect any foreign debris from entering their eyeballs.”

The second part of the operation which involved culling or shooting the goats with rifles came into force in winter 2020.

Goats were introduced to the Olympic Peninsula in the 1920s.

They stand at a height of 3ft at the shoulder and weigh up to 300 pounds.

Mountain goats tend to usually live between 12-15 years in the wild, but in zoos, their life expectancy is up to 20 years.

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