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Man seriously injured by mountain goat

The Local Austria
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Man seriously injured by mountain goat
File Photo: Cactus26

According to a report in the news daily Kronen Zeitung, a hiker from Salzburg was seriously injured after being attacked by a mountain goat.

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The incident occurred on Sunday around 1 pm, when the 45-year-old hiker, who was traveling with his dog, encountered the mountain goat at 2,650 metres while hiking one of the lower peaks of the Watzmann mountains.

He was around 100 metres below one of the lower peaks when the mountain goat attacked, causing him to fall and break his ankle.
 
The man was able to call rescuers in Ramsau, who decided to fly in the ÖAMTC rescue helicopter due to bad weather conditions.
 
The pilot related that it was an unusual recovery, as the ibex remained 10 metres above the injured hiker, retreating only when the rescue helicopter landed.
 
According to Bernd Hoch, the rescue helicopter pilot, the rescue was hampered by weather.
 
"Because of the ever-changing clouds, we had to make several attempts."  
 
What led to the ibex attack on the hiker is still unclear -- maybe the animal was only defending its kids.
 

Photo: APA (Salk/Weinberger)
 

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