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Day Of The Animals: Tales Of Man Vs Beast (And Man Suffers)

This sounds so premeditated on the animals' part...

Mountain Lion Attacks Cyclist in Calif.
By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - A mountain lion attacked and critically injured a bicyclist in an Orange County park and may have killed a man whose body was found nearby, authorities said.

The 2-year-old male cat, which weighed about 110 pounds, was later shot and killed, and its body was taken to a laboratory for testing, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Fish and Game Department.

Ann Hjelle had been riding with a friend in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park shortly before dusk Thursday when the mountain lion attacked her, said Orange County Fire Capt. Stephen Miller.

The lion pounced on the 30-year-old's back, grabbed her by her head and began dragging her, said her friend, Debi Nichols. Nichols said she screamed for help and grabbed Hjelle's legs in a struggle to free her.

"He dragged us down ... about 100 yards into the brush and I just kept screaming," Nichols said. "This guy would not let go. He had a hold of her face."

Other cyclists in the area threw rocks at the animal until it fled. Hjelle was airlifted to Mission Hospital, where she was in critical condition early Friday, a nursing supervisor said.

After the attack, the body of an unidentified man in his 30s was found at the top of a trail near a bicycle. Authorities weren't sure how long he had been there and couldn't confirm if the man was killed by the mountain lion, but Miller said, "it's pretty obvious that an animal was involved." An autopsy was planned Friday.

Including Thursday's incident, there have been 13 mountain lion attacks on humans in California over the past 114 years, five of them fatal, said Doug Updike, a biologist with the state Fish and Game Department.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../ap/20040109/ap_on_re_us/mountain_lion_attack
 
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Cocks fighting?

last updated: 2/17/2004

Local residents declare war on roosters


By Cynthis Cisneros
ABC13 Eyewitness News

(2/17/04 - THE WOODLANDS, TX) — Call them the neighborhood bullies. Residents in a Montgomery County apartment complex are declaring war on some chickens and roosters that have been causing problems. But getting rid of them isn't that easy!


It's a story we first brought you Monday night. Now there's an effort underway to catch the trouble makers.

It's easy to see the roosters and it's easy to hear the roosters, but it's not so easy to catch the roosters. Randy Hickman raises chickens and wants to take the roosters home. The problem is that they're too hard to catch.

"They're dominant," he said. "Like dogs protect other people, chickens are the same way. If a rooster has some hens, they'll protect them if somebody gets too close to them. Sometimes they'll spur you. They have spurs."

That's what happened to five-year-old Marcus Johnson.

"I just get up and start running," he said when asked what he does when he hears the roosters.

He says a white roosters chased and attacked him when he walked to his bus.

The roosters bother Gail Fiene in a different way. Every day, they leave bird droppings on her car.


"One, it's dirty," she said. "Two, it's ruining the paint on my car and if I don't have it washed every day and have the stuff taken off, it ruins everything."

Meanwhile, the roosters were too fast for Montgomery County animal control officers to catch. But not everyone wants the roosters to go. Some residents enjoy the birds.

"They give us enjoyment and they're beautiful animals and they're not mean," said resident Phyllis Ward.

On Tuesday, one white rooster was caught, yet another one remains on the loose.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/021704_local_roosters.html
 
Pet spider kills its owner


From ALLAN HALL
in Berlin

A MAN who lived in his own “zoo” of lizards and insects was fatally bitten by a pet black widow spider — then eaten by the other creepy-crawlies.

Police broke in to Mark Voegel’s apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body.

Neighbours alerted police after becoming alarmed by the stink.

And horrified officers were met by a nightmare scene.

A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa.

“Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth.

“There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles.

“Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.”

Loner Voegel, 30, never invited people back to his “jungle” home, a small apartment in the German city of Dortmund.

Police described it as a cross between a botanical garden and the butterfly breeding ground in the serial killer movie The Silence Of The Lambs.

One tarantula had built a nest the size of a swallow’s in a corner of the ceiling.

Voegel also had a boa constrictor and several poisonous frogs from South America.

Spider expert and animal cruelty officer Gabi Bayer said he kept creatures “that should never be allowed in a private home”.

She said: “He had spiders so aggressive they are the equivalent of a pit-bull in the animal world.”

The reptiles were allowed to roam free in the flat.

The heating elements on two tanks containing spiders and their termite snacks had exploded and dislodged the metal tops allowing them to escape.

Voegel is thought to have been dead for between seven and 14 days.

A post-mortem will be carried out in the next few days. But authorities believe Bettina alone was responsible for Voegel’s death.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004092008,00.html
 
Pet spider kills its owner





From ALLAN HALL
in Berlin

A MAN who lived in his own “zoo” of lizards and insects was fatally bitten by a pet black widow spider — then eaten by the other creepy-crawlies.
Police broke in to Mark Voegel’s apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body.

Neighbours alerted police after becoming alarmed by the stink.

And horrified officers were met by a nightmare scene.



Spider's victim ... the body of tragic Voegel is taken away {picture}


A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa.

“Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth.

“There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles.

“Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.”


Hungry ... termites ate body {picture}


Loner Voegel, 30, never invited people back to his “jungle” home, a small apartment in the German city of Dortmund.

Police described it as a cross between a botanical garden and the butterfly breeding ground in the serial killer movie The Silence Of The Lambs.

One tarantula had built a nest the size of a swallow’s in a corner of the ceiling.

Voegel also had a boa constrictor and several poisonous frogs from South America.



Spider expert and animal cruelty officer Gabi Bayer said he kept creatures “that should never be allowed in a private home”.

She said: “He had spiders so aggressive they are the equivalent of a pit-bull in the animal world.”

The reptiles were allowed to roam free in the flat.

The heating elements on two tanks containing spiders and their termite snacks had exploded and dislodged the metal tops allowing them to escape.


Voegel is thought to have been dead for between seven and 14 days.

A post-mortem will be carried out in the next few days. But authorities believe Bettina alone was responsible for Voegel’s death.

Confirmation from The Washinton Times...

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040227-064334-2470r.htm


Man consumed by spiders, lizards



DORTMUND, Germany, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A German man who kept more than 200 spiders in his home, along with other odd pets, was apparently killed and eaten by his critters.

Mark Voegel, 30, apparently was bitten by his favorite pet, a deadly Black Widow spider, the Daily Mirror reported Friday.

"Spiders were running all over him," said a police spokesman.

"They were coming out of his nose and mouth. Larger pieces of flesh had been torn off by the lizards and were taken back to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.

"There were open cages and terrariums everywhere -- all bathed in a weird green light. It was horrible."

Police described Voegel's tiny apartment in the German city of Dortmund as a cross between a botanical garden and the butterfly breeding room in the serial killer movie "The Silence of the Lambs."

More than 200 spiders, several snakes, a gecko called Helmut and several thousand termites gorged on their dead master for days.

and The Glasgow Daily Record

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/c...IDER-MAN-KILLED-BY-BLACK-WIDOW-name_page.html

SPIDER MAN KILLED BY BLACK WIDOW Feb 27 2004




By Allan Hall



SPIDERS,snakes and lizards feasted on the body of their owner after he was killed by a black widow.

Mark Voegel's body was covered in cobwebs when he was found in the flat he shared with more than 200 creatures.

Police broke down the door after neighbours complained about the stink. A spokesman said: 'It was a scene from a horror movie. His corpse was draped over the sofa.

'Giant webs draped him, spiders cavorted all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth.

'Larger pieces of flesh torn off by the lizards were scooped up and taken to the webs of tarantulas and other bird-eating spiders.

'There were cages and glass cases everywhere and a weird green light. It was horrible.'

The loner never invited friends back to his home in Dortmund, Germany.

Spider expert Gabi Bayer said 30-year-old Voegel had creatures 'that should never be allowed in a private home'.

A post-mortem will be carried out on Voegel but police believe the black widow, named Bettina, was responsible for his death.
 
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Kind of makes you wonder in they will tent an fumigate the whole place. I can't imagine someone would keep a black widow spider and let it roam free. Yikes! My dad caught one for me and put it in a jar for me to keep in my room I was terrified of it I left it outside in the glass jar to freeze over night and it died thankfully. I am in general not afraid of creepy crawlies but as I have been bitten by spiders twice I am quite afraid of them.
 
Thank you. While tales like that are by no means beyond the reach of possibility, it always does to have confirmation.

Is the Washington Post reliable??
 
A Small Point

It would be possible to translate Herr Voegel's name as,

Vögel, or 'Bird'.

So they really were 'Bird eating spiders' ! :eek:
 
Rampaging Moose Stomps Man

Animal Was Eventually Tranquilized


Mar 4, 2004 11:29 am US/Central

PARLEY’S CANYON (AP) One man was hospitalized after he and two hiking companions were attacked by an aggressive moose.

The attack occurred Wednesday after the three Salt Lake City men came face-to-face with the angry, 800-pound bull moose while snowshoeing on a trailhead about 10 miles east of the city, near Parleys Summit.

``It stopped and stared us down for what seemed like hours, but it was probably five or six minutes,'' said Bob Canestrini, 73.

He said they slowly retreated into some brush for cover. Then, without provocation, the moose ``just leaped through the trees and landed on Nick and started stomping him,'' Canestrini said.

Nick Baldwin, 65, screamed in pain, while Canestrini and Bob Mitchell, 72, threw branches and yelled at the animal. The bull paused, momentarily, then got a few more licks in before darting off.

``My hiking buddy and I thought for sure Baldwin was dead,'' Canestrini said. ``He wasn't moving.''

But the injured Baldwin was conscious, and Canestrini and Mitchell scurried to lift him into a nearby tree, which they also climbed while the moose lurked nearby.

The men, who called 911 from a cell phone, were in the tree for about 40 minutes waiting for help.

But the moose wasn't done, yet.

As a Division of Wildlife Resources officer made his way to the trapped men, the moose lunged at him. The officer used a tranquilizer gun to subdue the animal.

``It was standing in the pathway between the rescuers and the victims, and it was quite aggressive,'' said Summit County sheriff's Capt. Joe Offret.

"I've been around wildlife a lot, but I've never seen a moose act that way," said Canestrini.

Wildlife officials have had to remove about 50 moose that have wandered into urban areas looking for food this winter, said Jim Karpowitz, Utah's DWR big game coordinator.

"We always tell people to stay clear of them," Karpowitz added. "They're wild animals."

While the bull moose was unconscious, rescuers removed Baldwin from the canyon by helicopter. He was taken to a Salt Lake hospital, where he was in stable condition after having surgery to repair ligament damage in his left leg.

He also suffered mild trauma to the head, Canestrini said.

The moose was revived and left the trail, Offret said.

http://wcco.com/water/watercooler_story_064123405.html
 
From the front page:

Stowaway cat attacks pilot

March 10, 2004


A BANGLADESHI pilot needed first aid after a stowaway cat got into the cockpit of his aircraft and attacked him, a report said today.

The cat pounced on the pilot after managing to get into the cockpit of the plane flying from the northeastern city of Sylhet to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, a report in the New Age daily said.

The pilot, who works for the national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, was not seriously hurt.

On arrival at Dhaka's Zia International Airport, the cat evaded security staff and escaped.

It was finally caught in the airport two hours later, the report said.

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8928125%5E13762,00.html
 
Sea Lion Grabs Fisherman Off Boat


ANCHORAGE (AP) - A 19-year-old fisherman is recovering from an encounter with a sea lion that leaped out of the water, grabbed him as he worked on his grandfather's docked boat and pulled him into the harbor at King Cove.

``It happened so fast, I forgot what I was doing,'' said Ray Dushkin Jr., who was not seriously injured in the abduction Tuesday.




Dushkin spent a few moments beneath the water's surface before the hefty animal let go. Dushkin's left buttock sports an inch-and-a-half scrape, but no bite mark, he said. His coveralls were torn through, as were the pants worn beneath them.

About 4:30 p.m., Ray Dushkin Sr. was standing on the top of the bridge and asked his son to hand him the hatch. Young Dushkin was standing two feet from the edge of the boat. Several sea lions were in the area.


``The sea lion was just swimming around the boat like they do always when the boats are delivering fish,'' Ray Sr. said. And just like that, the creature - estimated about 12 feet long and between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds - leaped a half dozen or more feet out of the water and grabbed his son.


``He went over like a rag doll,'' the father told the Anchorage Daily News. ``The only thing I was thinking is, that sea lion was taking off with my boy, and I'll never see him again.''


Then the sea lion let the young man go. Ray Sr. and Mack were at the railing to help Ray Jr. climb aboard.


The younger Dushkin was examined at the local clinic and given antibiotics.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news...LS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20040311/2321484771.htm
 
re:- rampaging moose stomps man

i read it as "rampaging mouse stomps man"
and i thought bloody big mouse :eek:

doh!
 
Kangaroo Attacks Woman in Her Garden


By Associated Press

March 16, 2004, 8:15 AM EST


BRISBANE, Australia -- A kangaroo viciously attacked a woman Tuesday as she picked roses outside her home on the edge of Australia's third-largest city, a report said.

Sylvia Aldren was working in the garden of her home in the northern outskirts of Brisbane when the large kangaroo pushed her to the ground and then kicked, bit and scratched her, Nine Network television said.

Aldren said she sensed trouble when she noticed a few kangaroos nearby and one approached her.

"The look in the kangaroo's eye made me feel that I knew I was in trouble," she said. "I thought this is it, he's going to kill me."

Aldren was taken to a hospital with injuries to her chest, thighs, arms and legs, the report said.

Neighbors said they have been terrorized in recent years by a mob of around 50 kangaroos that live in a nearby area.

The government estimates there are 60 million kangaroos in Australia. Most live in the Outback and rarely attack humans.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationw...51208.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
 
Pos. this might need to go into an animals killing the power thread (but I seem to recall the mag lumps these in with these kinds of reports so........).

BODØ, NORWAY:

Rat killed power supply

Carin Pettersson 20.02.04 13:19, ny 23.02.04 09:25

A rat the size of a small cat cut the power for 15,000 consumers in downtown Bodø Thursday evening.

According to the Norwegian television channel NRK, the rat got into a transformation station and walked across two energized bars. The rat’s adventure ended with a short-circuiting in a power switch and a powerful explosion.

As a result 15,000 people in downtown Bodø were without power for more than two hours Thursday evening.

«The damage was not too great,» said Sverre Pettersen, engineer at SKS, to the television news. «It was limited to what we call a high tension area, so we can have it fix within a couple of days.»

http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/english/article189127.ece
 
And a strange death in the making:

Artist wants to be fed to piranhas

A German artist has written to the country's zoos to ask if they would feed his body to the piranhas once he's dead.

Karl Friedrich Lentze, 56, said he came up with the idea after reading about a Dutch man who wanted to be fed to snails.

Lentze, from Berlin, said he liked the idea but wanted something that would gobble him up a lot quicker.

Cologne Zoo is one of those he has contacted, justifying the appeal by saying it could have educational purposes if, for example, it was done in front of a group of biology students.

But zoo director Günther Nogge said even if he agreed it would probably not work.

He said: "It's a great idea. But if you want to carry it out for educational purposes then it would be better if you were fed to the piranhas alive, they're not as keen on dead flesh and prefer their food live."

The artist is however still hoping to hear from other zoos that may be more open to his proposal.

He said: "They could always poke my body with sticks to get me moving and get the fish interested."

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_899621.html
 
Dogs use bread left at dairies as toilets

23 March 2004

By RUTH WYNYARD

Dogs are urinating on bread delivered to local dairies, a Manukau City councillor says.


Anne Candy believes the problem is citywide and caused because of inadequate storage for early deliveries of bread to some shops.

Mrs Candy told the Manurewa Community Board the situation was disgusting and that offending dairies should have their health rating reduced.

She says she became aware of the problem from a resident who saw a dog cock its leg over a tray of bread sitting outside a closed Manurewa dairy.

She is not prepared to name the dairy.

"All I'm assured of is it's a dairy I don't patronise," Mrs Candy says.

The resident complained to the dairy owner and was told it didn't matter because the bread was in plastic wrapping.

Mrs Candy says this is unacceptable because there is no guarantee the wrapping is hole proof.

It is there to ensure freshness of the bread, not to protect against dog urine, she says.

Manukau City environmental team leader Ian Milnes commends Mrs Candy for highlighting a worrying health and safety issue.

Mr Milnes was not aware of the problem but says it is illegal and unpleasant.

Under current rules, any food outside a shop must be kept at least 45cm above the ground in lockable cabinets adequately protected from pollution and dogs.

Failure to do so could result in a health rating as low as an E (the highest is A), Mr Milnes says.

He encourages anyone to report food hygiene concerns to the council.

Food retailers are inspected every six months, unless there are specific complaints, Mr Milnes says.

Mrs Candy says she will talk to bread manufacturers, who she believes have some responsibility for bread before it is sold, and will also report the incident to a health inspector.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2852515a4560,00.html
 
Dozens bitten by vampire bats in Peru jungle


March 27 2004 at 10:06AM


Lima - More than 20 people were attacked and bitten by vampire bats as they returned home from work in the jungle community of Mansiche, a top official at the ministry of health said.

Luis Suarez, the head of the ministry's Office of Epidemiology, told reporters on Friday that the attacks took place late on Tuesday.

Victims panicked, fearing the bats were infected with rabies. But tests on the victims and several of the bats were negative, Suarez said.

The ministry of health on Thursday launched an information campaign to inform people in the region on rabies prevention and control, Suarez said.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=143&art_id=qw1080374766587B216&set_id=1
 
Man dies from ram attack

April 1, 2004 - 8:55AM



A 67-year-old man is dead after he and his mate were attacked by a raging ram on a property in the NSW southern highlands.

The two men were feeding cows and sheep in paddocks on a property on the Old Hume Highway, Berrima, when the ram charged at the younger man, aged 46.

His older companion went to help but the ram attacked him, striking him in the chest.

"The ram then charged and struck the injured man in the chest and back," a police spokeswoman said.

"The younger man returned and the two men were able to leave the paddock and enter a nearby motor vehicle.

"The ram continued to charge the vehicle smashing a rear light."

The older man suffered breathing problems and his condition deteriorated, paramedics unable to revive him.

Rangers removed the ram from the property and a report was being prepared for the coroner.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/01/1080544596714.html
 
Very similar to this:

Emperor said:
Dozens bitten by vampire bats in Peru jungle


March 27 2004 at 10:06AM


Lima - More than 20 people were attacked and bitten by vampire bats as they returned home from work in the jungle community of Mansiche, a top official at the ministry of health said.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=143&art_id=qw1080374766587B216&set_id=1

Vampire Bats Kill 13 People in Brazil

Fri Apr 2, 6:01 PM ET

Add Science - Reuters to My Yahoo!

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Rabies-carrying vampire bats killed at least 13 people in a remote Amazon town in Brazil's northern state of Para last month, authorities said on Friday.

The state health care department said the thumb-sized creatures had attacked about 300 people -- an unusually high number -- since March 2 in the riverside Portel area, next to the world's biggest estuarine archipelago of Marajo.

"All the deceased had a history of recent bat attacks and six of them had confirmed human rabies from bat bites," a department spokeswoman said.

Other bite victims received vaccines and other anti-rabies treatment after March 19, when authorities became aware of the problem.

The spokeswoman said government scientists suspect the attacks are linked to a change in the bats' migration pattern caused by deforestation.

"There is no guarantee that we won't have more cases," she added.

The most recent death occurred last weekend.

Vampire bats normally feed on the blood of large birds and sleeping cattle, lapping it from cuts they make with their teeth. They often transmit rabies to cattle.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&e=2&u=/nm/20040402/sc_nm/brazil_bats_dc

Emps
 
Python Tries to Eat Boston Owner

Sun Apr 4,10:35 PM ET


BOSTON - Police rescued a Boston woman from the jaws of her 7-foot Burmese python after the snake clamped onto her arm and started squeezing. Wanda Nunes, 43, told the Boston Herald that her python Moma went for her arm shortly before she planned to feed her two rats Saturday morning.

"She must have smelled the rats because she reached back and lunged for my arm," Nunes said. "Before I knew it, she was all wrapped around me. ... Every time I tried to pry her off or move, she just got tighter around my leg."

Her 13-year-old son called police after trying, and failing, to pull the snake off his mother.

Two police officers were able to pry Moma off Nunes and put her back in her cage.

Nunes said the snake was part of the family, and she had no plans to get rid of her.

"The police wanted to put her down," she said. "But I begged them not to."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...e=10&u=/ap/20040405/ap_on_fe_st/python_rescue
 
Surfer killed in shark attack

Thursday, April 8, 2004 Posted: 0121 GMT (0921 HKT)



HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- A surfer was killed Wednesday by a shark off the coast of Maui, the first deadly shark attack in Hawaii in several years.

Willis McInnis, 57, was helped out of the water, but died on the shore despite rescue efforts by beachgoers, police and paramedics. He was bitten in the leg and suffered severe blood loss, police Capt. Charles Hirata said.

He said the bite on McInnis was 12 to 14 inches wide, indicating that it was probably a large shark.

"It has to be a fairly good size shark to do that damage," said Randy Honebrink, spokesman for the Shark Task Force of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. "Right now we don't have any idea of how big or what kind of shark it was."

One witness told police the surfer missed catching a wave, turned back out and was paddling when the attack occurred. He was attacked about 300 yards off Kahana beach on Maui's western shoreline.

Only four shark attacks were reported in Hawaii last year, including one in October off the island of Kauai that took the left arm of top amateur surfer Bethany Hamilton, then 13.

In 1999, the husband of Nahid Davoodabadi, 29, of Sunnyvale, California, said his wife was killed by a shark while the couple was kayaking off West Maui. Her body was never recovered.

The last confirmed shark attack death in Hawaii was in 1992 when 18-year-old surfer Aaron Romento of Pearl City was attacked off West Oahu. In 1991, a woman swimming near her home on Maui was killed by a 15-foot shark.

Honebrink said there are an average of about four shark attacks off the Hawaiian Islands every year. He said tiger sharks are the most common.

"They do feed an awful lot at things at the surface," Honebrink said. "They have a nonspecific diet, they'll eat just about anything."

Authorities will try to determine the type of shark in Wednesday's attack by studying the victim's bite marks.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/West/04/07/shark.attack.ap/index.html
 
Friday, April 9, 2004

Crew boats fend off otter attack

By Marta Darby


In a scene perhaps more typical of a Fox "When Animals Attack" special than Dartmouth crew practice, a river otter attacked crew coaches April 2 during the varsity heavyweight afternoon practice.

No one was injured, but the incident, which occurred seven miles upstream from the crew boathouse, rattled the nerves of all involved.

The otter, running along the shoreline ice before the attack, jumped into the river to play in the wake of the coach's launch, according to varsity coach Scott Armstrong, who was directing two eight-man boats at the time of the encounter. Volunteer coach Todd Pearson and coxswain Kate Johnson '06 accompanied Armstrong in the launch.

Armstrong turned off the motor to avoid injuring the otter with the propeller. With the engine off, the otter immediately tried to board the boat in the stern. Armstrong then grabbed a wooden paddle and attempted to fend off the animal, pushing the otter back into the water every time its head appeared over the edge of the boat. The otter, however, outmaneuvered Armstrong and climbed into the launch.

"Scott, Todd and I immediately jumped up," said Johnson, who was sitting in the bow of the launch. "The otter was on the far side of one of the benches and was definitely trying to attack Scott."

The otter promptly began to lunge and hiss viciously at the coaches, who frantically used paddles and a megaphone to try to force the animal out of the boat. After a short battle, the two parties reached a standoff – the hissing and glaring otter in the stern of the boat, the coaches armed and ready for action in the middle.

Suddenly, the otter attacked again. As the otter lunged over the bench in the stern, Armstrong swiftly used his paddle to flip the animal into the river.

The otter's aggression, however, did not end there. Shortly after the otter had returned to shore, the animal jumped back into the river, swimming directly toward the second varsity boat that was in the process of turning around. The boats immediately fled.

"I don't think I've ever rowed harder in my entire life as I did trying to escape the otter -- that devilish creature had already attacked Scott and now it was coming back for more," said Noah Riner '06, who was in the second varsity eight at the time of the incident.

Armstrong does not foresee the otter posing a major threat in the future.

"If he jumped into a shell that was stopped in the water and tried to bite one of the guys, it wouldn't be a funny story anymore. But I assume that if we just keep an eye out for him, we can easily avoid that," Armstrong said.

The attack, which occurred about seven miles upstream from the Friends of Dartmouth Rowing Boathouse on the Connecticut River, was not the otter's first assault. The same otter recently attacked local resident Lois Stanhope's four-year-old grandson. The boy's rubber boots, however, protected him from harm.

Stanhope suggested that the otter might be protecting pups, which would explain the animal's violent behavior.

River users are advised to exercise caution and to avoid contact with the otter.

http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2004040901030
 
Inquiry after cow kills tourist

A fatal accident inquiry is to be held into the death of a tourist killed after being butted by a Highland cow.
Brian Williams, 74, was struck by the cow after he walked close to the animal's calf on the Isle of Skye.

Mr Williams, of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, died in hospital in Glasgow on 28 August, 2003, a day after the freak accident near Loch Long.

The incident happened on a private road in an estate operated by a management company in London.

Procurator fiscal Roderick Urquhart said the issue of livestock management will be looked into during the fatal accident inquiry to be held at Dingwall Sheriff Court on 28 April.

He said: "It is unusual. It seems the man got too near to the cow and her calf so the cow went over and allegedly gave him a dunt.

"The family want to know why cattle were left unattended in an area used by tourists. The family are also questioning the adequacy of the signs."

Mr Williams did not seek medical treatment immediately, but became unwell after returning to his holiday accommodation in Plockton, Wester Ross, with his wife.

It is believed he suffered a brain haemorrhage after arriving at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3612337.stm

Published: 2004/04/08 16:56:52 GMT

© BBC MMIV
 
BIKER WIFE KILLED BY PHEASANT

Apr 13 2004


By Richard Smith


A PHEASANT caused the death of a woman motorbike pillion passenger when it flew into her husband's face.

The driver, in his 60s, lost control of the powerful Honda CBR 1100cc bike and hit a fence.

He was badly hurt and his wife died later from her injuries.

The freak accident was on the A417 Gloucester to Cirencester road near Elkstone in the Cotswolds.

A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: "A pheasant flew up from the nearside verge and hit the rider in the face.

"The motorcycle went out of control and left the road on the nearside, hitting a fence."

The couple - who have not been named - are from the Isle of Wight and were on holiday.

The man was last night in a "poorly" condition in hospital in Cheltenham.

District coroner Lester Maddrel will will open an inquest later this week.

The road was closed for several hours. Police are appealing for witnesses.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnew...=biker-wife-killed-by-pheasant-name_page.html
 
Fishermen fend off sharks on makeshift raft

Last Updated Sun, 18 Apr 2004 11:00:27

NUKU'ALOFA, TONGA - Four fishermen from Tonga had a narrow escape in the Pacific Ocean after fighting off what are thought to be small sharks for more than eight hours.

A fifth man was badly bitten and later died.

The ordeal began when the fishermen's boat sank in rough seas about 50 kilometres northwest of Tonga. The country is made up of more than 170 islands east of Australia.

The tale of survival began when a freak wave destroyed the men's wooden fishing boat.

They had just enough time to activate an emergency beacon and to rope together several plastic diesel containers and buoys to use as a makeshift raft.

One crewman was repeatedly bitten on his feet, legs, back and stomach by what are thought to have been a group of small sharks, less than a metre long.

The injured man said the animals would attack, ripping out mouthfuls of flesh. He said he felt lucky because the small predators weren't big enough to tear off limbs.

One fisherman, who was bitten under the arm, died after being rescued. It's thought he was suffering from massive shock.

The men were in the water for eight hours through the night in the rain and were pounded by waves of up to six metres.

It's reported they killed five of the sharks.

They were finally rescued when a Tongan Navy patrol boat spotted them waving a flashlight, but even then their ordeal wasn't over.

It took the sailors more than an hour to rescue all five fishermen. The commander of the vessel said it was incredibly risky to lower an inflatable boat into the water.

Eventually the five men were rescued. Two were suffering from hypothermia. The navy says it's unlikely they would have survived much longer.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/04/18/tonga_sharks040418
 
Florida Woman Survives Alligator Attack

Thursday, April 22, 2004

SANIBEL, Fla. — A 74-year-old woman survived an attack by a nearly 10-foot-long alligator (search) that bit her on the leg and arm and dragged her into a lake.



Jane C. Keefer was stable and in good condition at HealthPark Medical Center (search) early Thursday, hospital officials said.

Police said Keefer was attacked at about 8 p.m. Wednesday as she was gardening near the bank behind her home.

Bitten first on the leg, Keefer was able to fight the alligator off, Sanibel Police Chief Bill Tomlinson said.

The reptile lunged at her a second time, biting her arm and dragging her into the water, before her husband, William, was able to help her get away, said Lar Gregory, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (search).

Authorities captured the alligator at 10:45 p.m. behind Keefer's home. It will be destroyed.

"This is the kind of gator that will kill you," said trapper John French.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117873,00.html

[edit: Longer report:

Alligator attacks Sanibel woman

74-year-old resident bitten on leg, arm

By GRANT BOXLEITNER , [email protected]
Published by news-press.com on April 22, 2004

A nearly 10-foot-long alligator bit a woman on the leg and arm and dragged her into a Sanibel lake Wednesday evening as she was gardening near the bank behind her home, Sanibel police said.

Jane C. Keefer, 74, of 1075 Blue Heron Drive, still was being treated in the emergency room at HealthPark Medical Center early today after being attacked by a 9-foot, 7-inch-long male alligator about 8 p.m. in the Gulf Shores subdivison.

Sanibel Police Chief Bill Tomlinson said the animal’s actions toward Keefer, who was stable and in good condition while being treated, appeared to have been unprovoked.

Bitten first on the leg, Keefer was able to fight the alligator off, Tomlinson said. The reptile lunged at her a second time, biting her arm and dragging her into the water, said Lar Gregory, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

With the help of her husband, William, she was able to repel the alligator and got back on land, Gregory said.

Authorities captured the alligator at 10:45 p.m. behind Keefer’s ranch-style home after tossing a cow’s lung attached to a cord into the lake. The alligator almost immediately swallowed the lung, and five men hauled the gator ashore, Gregory said.

At that point, two Sanibel police officers, along with Gregory and licensed Fish and Wildlife trappers John French of North Fort Myers and Tracy Hansen of Fort Myers, bound the gator’s snout with electrical tape and carried it to a small covered pickup where it lay just before midnight.

The alligator will be destroyed, authorities said.

“This is the kind of gator that will kill you,” French said.

French helped trap the alligator that killed a Sanibel man on Sept. 11, 2001. That fatal alligator attack was the first in Lee County since at least 1948, when the state started keeping records. It was Lee County’s 27th alligator attack since 1948.

Robert Steele, 81, of 737 Rabbit Road, was walking his terrier about 4:15 p.m. on a path between two swampy canals less than 200 feet from his house when an 11-foot alligator attacked him and severed his right leg below the knee.

Police said it’s likely the alligator went after the dog and Steele tried to fend it off.

“Why he got attacked, we’re not sure, but he may have been protecting his dog,” said Tomlinson, who was Sanibel police commander at the time. The dog escaped injury.

Steele’s wife, Ellen Steele, 81, said at the time that she heard her husband screaming and thought he was drowning in the canal.

She ran over to him and pulled him as far as she could onto the bank before calling 911.

When help arrived, Robert Steele was in cardiac arrest and had lost a lot of blood, authorities said.

“I had no idea it was an alligator,” Ellen Steele said. “His legs were still in the water and there was no blood. We live among alligators; we protect them. They have never attacked us before.”

Robert Steele was taken by ambulance to HealthPark Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers arrived along with at least two local alligator trappers at about 5 p.m.

It didn’t take long to find the culprit.

“We saw it surface on the other bank with the leg in his mouth,” said Tomlinson, gesturing toward the 300-pound alligator that three wildlife officers cornered and shot. “It was pretty skittish because it had what it wanted.”

Wildlife officer JoAnne Adams said she and two other officers shot at the alligator several times on both sides of the bank before the beast surfaced close enough to kill it.

http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040422gatorattack.html

I picthed to do the isnald of Sanibel's website a while ago and I still think it sounds like a toilet cleaning product ;) ]

Emps
 
Ky. Girl Survives Losing Scalp In Pit Bull Attack

Child In Stable Condition; Scalp Found In Dog's Stomach

HODGENVILLE, Ky. -- A 4-year-old Kentucky girl is lucky to be alive after a gruesome attack by the family's pit bull.

The attack happened Monday night at the child's home in Hodgenville, in Larue County, Louisville television station WLKY reported.

As Emily Page Stinnett remains in stable condition at Louisville's Kosair Children's Hospital, Larue County Sheriff Bobby Shoffer struggles to remember an attack as gruesome as Monday's.

"It's the worst I've seen in my 17 years of law enforcement," he said.

Shoffer added that when he and his colleagues responded to the Stinnet's home, they saw a blood-spattered doghouse in the backyard, Miller reported. And the pit bull hadn't seemed to calm down since the attack. The deputies then took action.

"When we got at the scene, the child was in the backyard just a few feet from the dog," Shoffer said. "EMS was called, and they responded. The dog apparently was still aggressive and it wouldn't let EMS near the child, so the dog had to be put down."

Stinnett and another girl were swinging on the swingset with the pit bull chained and staked just 7 feet away, WLKY-TV reported.

Shoffer said something provoked the dog, and it snapped, pulling its stake as it lunged at the girl and biting her face just above the eyebrow.

"I guess you would say she was more or less scalped," Shoffer said. "She had some puncture wounds to her stomach."

According to Shoffer, the dog then dragged the little girl around the yard as she screamed for help. Her stepmother ran to Emily's aid, but the dog would not let her near the little girl. According to investigators, the stepmother took off in her car to get a neighbor to help rescue little the girl.

"These dogs are unpredictable," Shoffer said. "The least little thing ... the dog could be happy one minute, and the next minute they go absolutely crazy. Anybody that has young children (needs) to make sure the dog is chained or properly fenced in."

Once the girl was transported to Kosair, doctors there told the sheriff that child's hair and scalp had to be found and delivered or she would die. Shoffer said he had to cut the dog's stomach open to find the scalp, which was then rushed to the hospital, WLKY reported.

Family members told WLKY that the doctors reattached the majority of the scalp, but added that the girl still might face more surgeries.

http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/news/3243296/detail.html
 
Aroused horse bites man dead

09 May 2004


WARSAW: A sexually excited stallion bit a Polish man to death when he tried to calm the beast which had become uncontrollably aroused by a nearby mare, police said.


"The 24-year-old man, identified as Robert R, was bitten when he tried to calm his horse which had become unsettled by the presence of a mare in the vicinity," a duty officer in the Baltic port of Szczecin said.

The horse went wild and began straining and bucking while pulling a farm cart through the village.

An autopsy would determine whether the direct cause of death was a severed jugular vein or damaged spine, the officer added.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2902033a4560,00.html
 
Man seeks revenge on SUV-damaging turkey

The Associated Press
Last Updated 3:09 pm PDT Tuesday, May 11, 2004

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A turkey that bloodied and dazed itself after pecking and scratching a parked SUV likely thought his own reflection was a rival turkey vying for the attention of an accompanying hen.

At least that's one of turkey hunter Michael Bitar's theories. Bitar, whose 2002 Ford Explorer suffered deep scratches on the bumper and paint, is hoping to track down and bag the bird that caused
Man seeks revenge on SUV-damaging turkey

The Associated Press
Last Updated 3:09 pm PDT Tuesday, May 11, 2004

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A turkey that bloodied and dazed itself after pecking and scratching a parked SUV likely thought his own reflection was a rival turkey vying for the attention of an accompanying hen.

At least that's one of turkey hunter Michael Bitar's theories. Bitar, whose 2002 Ford Explorer suffered deep scratches on the bumper and paint, is hoping to track down and bag the bird that caused $1,500 in damage.

Bitar said the tom turkey, which was accompanied by a hen, saw his own reflection on the shiny SUV.

"When I came out, he had his claws on my gas cap," Bitar said. "I guess he figured he was fighting another turkey. But he was fighting my car."

Gene Dumont, a wildlife management supervisor for Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, has never heard of turkeys attacking vehicles. But Bitar's theory was plausible.

"They can be aggressive, especially if it's a young tom during mating season," Dumont said.

The turkey attack happened about one week before turkey season opened in Maine on May 3. Bitar now has his license to hunt turkeys for the season and is admittedly on the hunt for a sweet taste of revenge.

"My vehicle just depreciated quite a bit," Bitar said. "But that doesn't matter. He'll be in the freezer soon."
,500 in damage.

Bitar said the tom turkey, which was accompanied by a hen, saw his own reflection on the shiny SUV.

"When I came out, he had his claws on my gas cap," Bitar said. "I guess he figured he was fighting another turkey. But he was fighting my car."

Gene Dumont, a wildlife management supervisor for Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, has never heard of turkeys attacking vehicles. But Bitar's theory was plausible.

"They can be aggressive, especially if it's a young tom during mating season," Dumont said.

The turkey attack happened about one week before turkey season opened in Maine on May 3. Bitar now has his license to hunt turkeys for the season and is admittedly on the hunt for a sweet taste of revenge.

"My vehicle just depreciated quite a bit," Bitar said. "But that doesn't matter. He'll be in the freezer soon."

http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/weird/story/1360861p-8573640c.html

I await the follow up where he accientally shoots himself or he thinks hes bagged the turkey throws it in the back of his beloved SUV and it comes around causing him to write the SUV off (but escaping unscathed of course).

Emps
 
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