Everyone knows animals can be dangerous; they’re behind bars in the zoo for a reason! But of course, we share the planet, and can’t always interact peacefully. When animals enter human territory, all bets are off.
In light of the recent attack by a snake on two sleeping boys, it seemed appropriate to take a look back at similar freak animal accidents.
Between killer snakes, pit bulls, kangaroos, and wild cats, the animal kingdom can be a scary place. Check out these people’s brushes with death.
1. Kangaroo
An Australian woman was attacked by a kangaroo while walking to pick up her daughter from school. However, the attack was not the first time Kirrily McWilliams encountered the female kangaroo. After it had broken into her home and attacked her 143-pound dog, she phoned the National Parks and Wildlife Services, who told her to ignore the animal and that it’d go away. That same afternoon, the kangaroo confronted her. She was pounded and slashed; she sustained a deep gash on her back. Then, while she was being treated at the hospital, her husband was attacked by the same kangaroo in their backyard, but he was able to defend himself with a gardening tool. The next day, a permit was issued for a shooter for the kangaroo, but it had already moved on and attacked someone else.
2. Python
A one-year-old boy in Illinois was attacked by his neighbor’s pet python while he was in his crib. The snake slithered in and attempted to bite off the baby’s foot. His father, Devin Winans, heard his son’s cries and felt around the crib. He felt something “slimey” and then saw the snake. The baby sustained bruises and cuts, but was thankfully not in a life-threatening condition. Police later determined the snake was not in a secure tank, and ordered the owner to appear in court.
3. Cougar
Angie Prime, 35, was relaxing on her couch in her home in southeastern British Columbia when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. An old, emaciated cougar had slipped into her house through an open screen door. The animal attacked a screaming Prime, who weighs only 78 pounds. Luckily, her neighbors heard her screams and called the police, who quickly killed the cat. Prime credits her collie for saving her life.
4. Ferret
Casually pushing her baby’s stroller down the street in England, Chloe Knowles, 21, was shocked when a ferret jumped out and began attacking. The foot-long animal leaped onto the stroller and began gnawing on the finger of 10-month-old Lola-Mae. Luckily, firefighters quickly arrived and she rushed to the hospital, where her hand was bandaged.
5. Pit bull
A known prostitute lost her left arm and leg after she was locked in an abandoned home with a killer pit bull. Ian Summers brought Robin Johnson to a house left empty by a narcotics raid in Orange County, Florida. When the two entered the house, the dog, Fiesty, attacked. Summers says he was terrified, so he shut the door and left. Johnson was in a coma and underwent a double amputation. As it turns out, Fiesty was a repeat offender; he had previously bit off a large chunk of skin on a 2-year-old boy.
6. Fox
Nine-month-old twin girls were mauled by a fox who crept through patio doors left open in their home in London. Lola and Isabella Koupparis sustained ‘life- changing’ injuries after they were attacked in their cribs. Reports indicate the two looked like ‘something out of a horror movie.’
SOURCES: DailyMail / Fox / LancashireTelegraph / CBCNews / DailyMail / DailyMail
