'Goat man' spotted in Utah mountains
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The sighting of a man dressed in a goat suit on a Utah mountain is causing concern among state wildlife officials, The Associated Press reported.
The man, who remains unidentified, was spotted by photographer Coty Creighton on July 15 during a hike on Ben Lomond peak just north of Ogden in northern Utah.
Creighton told the AP he saw the man through a set of binoculars trailing behind a herd of goats on his hands and knees.
When the man noticed he had been spotted, "he just stopped in his tracks and froze," Creighton told the AP.
That's when Creighton began taking photos. The man then sat on a hill for several minutes.
He got back down on his hands and knees and hurried to catch with the rest of the herd.
While officials said what the man is doing is not illegal, they're concerned as the hunting season approaches that he could be mistaken for a goat or attacked by a live goat.
"They may get agitated. They're territorial. They are, after all, wild animals," Phil Douglass, spokesperson for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, told the AP. "This person puts on a goat suit, he changes the game. But as long as he accepts responsibility, it's not illegal."
Goat hunting season begins in September.
"My very first concern is the person doesn't understand the risks," Douglass told the AP. "Who's to say what could happen."Officials said they just want to talk to the man and warn him of the dangers. They said he could be a wildlife enthusiast. "People do some pretty out there things in the name of enjoying wildlife. But I've never had a report like this," Douglass said.
