Nature is a very interesting thing that we will remain endlessly thrilled by, despite our various attempts to move out of it throughout our history. It is also scary and full of things that can kill us. Not only do we have to worry about tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, but there is also the slight matter of nature’s very own savage killing machines (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!) that would appear to have been designed by the Devil himself to instill fear in our civilized hearts.
There is certainly no shortage of stories and reports of people being mauled and maimed by these primitive beasts. In spite of our tendency to see ourselves as having evolved out of the food chain, many of us are still drawn to that part of the world which we have by and large forgotten how to navigate and survive in. The following people, however, met their ends at the mercy of animals that might not come to mind when we picture a man-killer.
Florida Man Drowned By A Duck
Many deadly creatures lurk in the sea, and while shark attacks are not as common as they have been portrayed throughout the decades in various movies, the idea of a shark mistaking a human for another creature and attacking should not seem so unreasonable to the human imagination.
A man from Florida, however, had a fatal encounter with another kind of animal which inhabits the water. Ducks, unlike their close relative swans, which are bigger and have a number of documented attacks on humans, appear to be relatively harmless. Minus some extraordinary circumstances, they would probably remain harmless. But as this story shows, sometimes extraordinary circumstances happen to unlucky people.
It was a normal day in Florida for Leon Resnick, who was testing a jet ski for his company in 2001. He was driving around a lake near Deerfield Beach as he had probably done countless times before when he suddenly collided with a flying duck and was knocked into the water, unconscious. His partner was unaware of what had happened and was unable to save him. Resnick drowned in an extraordinarily rare case of a duck causing a person’s death. The duck was also found dead nearby.
Californian Animal Trainer Knifed By A Chicken
Chinese Girl Bitten By A Hamster
Old Man Trampled By Sheep
Most people probably don’t see themselves living well into their nineties. Therefore, even fewer people would expect to die in their nineties from being attacked by a sheep, but that was the unfortunate fate of one 94-year-old man as he was walking along the French countryside one day in 2016. He was found dead in a field near Cestas with wounds that indicate a death by injuries sustained from being trampled on.
Sheep are genuinely considered to be harmless, docile creatures. This is true for the most part, with one notable exception. Rams are intact, adult male sheep who are considerably more aggressive than other kinds of sheep, especially during mating season. The sheep that knocked the old man down and trampled him was apparently notorious in the region for its unprovoked attacks on multiple people. After causing the death of the old man, the sheep was captured and put down.
South African Woman Kicked By Giraffe
Giraffes are odd, curious creatures that don’t really resemble anything else in the world. Due to the fact that they are only native to Africa and are on the endangered species list, most of us will not have the chance to see a wild giraffe in person, let alone while we take our dogs on afternoon strolls. One woman, on the other hand, would have been better off if she hadn’t.
A 25-year-old woman named Merike Engelbrecht was walking her dogs near Musina in 2010 when one got loose and ran toward a herd of giraffes, frightening them. As she went to try and retrieve her dog, she was kicked in the neck by a scared giraffe trying to protect its calf. She died instantly from the impact.
Georgian Farmer Crushed By Cow
In 2017, 72-year-old William Parris was attempting to move a cow, which then pushed the man against a fence and crushed his chest. Parris was pronounced dead at the emergency room due to severe trauma caused by the impact.