Have you ever dreamed of owning an exotic pet? Some people have lived that fantasy, keeping wild animals as companions. But the weird and wacky can give way to nightmares in the waking world. This list reveals 10 times when cherished companions turned deadly.
1. Cassowary
The world’s most dangerous bird is the cassowary. Although a cassowary is as tall as a person, the real threat is closer to the ground.
The bird has 4-inch swords for claws on the end of its ridiculously powerful legs. A kick from a cassowary can kill you both by blunt force trauma and blood loss. So naturally, they are sometimes sought out by exotic animal collectors as pets.
In Florida, a 75-year-old man was a breeder of these birds until one of them attacked him in 2019. He fell to the ground by accident, and then the bird struck. The man was probably doomed from the moment he hit the ground as a cassowary can run up to 31 mph and jump 7 ft into the air despite being flightless.
In 2012, a man was chased by a cassowary and cornered on a cliff above a pool of water in Australia. The bird then kicked him in the back, sending him rolling down the embankment into the water below. He survived but with bruises and a ripped shirt.
2. A Red Deer And Elk Hybrid
On his farm in Australia, Paul McDonald was killed by a hybrid of a red deer and an elk (aka a wapiti). His family had kept the normally docile animal for years before it attacked Paul in 2019.
The animal’s hormones were acting up due to mating season. Red deer stags live as social animals for 10 months of the year, but for two months, they enter a period of “rutting” in which they display more aggression and other sexual behaviors.
One morning, Paul had gone to feed the hybrid breakfast when his wife and son heard a commotion coming from the animal’s area as the beast attacked. His wife attempted to intervene, but she was injured by the animal.
Their son went to get help. After paramedics and police arrived, they treated the injuries and shot the hybrid. Paul died from his injuries, but his wife survived after several operations.
3. Hippo
In 2011, headlines were made when a South African man named Marius Els was killed by his pet hippopotamus, which he called Humphrey. The death was notable because Els and Humphrey had appeared in media and videos together demonstrating their seemingly friendly bond.
A video called “My Pet Hippo: I Love Humphrey” was uploaded to YouTube earlier in the year that Els was killed. He had rescued Humphrey as a calf from a flood. Around six years later, Humphrey killed Els by repeatedly biting and gouging him.
It was not the first time that Humphrey, the 2,600 lb mammal, had killed. He had previously destroyed multiple cows that had been owned by a business partner of Els.
Friends of Els reportedly knew that it was only a matter of time before the deadliest animal in Africa would off a person. Hippos kill more people each year than several more dangerous-sounding species combined, including elephants, lions, leopards, and rhinos.
Els was known for performing dangerous stunts with Humphrey, especially posing for photographs while riding on the animal’s back. At one point before Els’s death, Humphrey had attacked two canoers who passed too close to him on the river, forcing them to climb a tree for safety.
4. Southern Pig-Tailed Macaque Monkey
Monkeys may not sound like the most dangerous animals in the world. We often associate them with funny behaviors like eating bananas and throwing feces. But the bites of monkeys can be deadly—especially in this case from Malaysia in 2019 when the monkey bit through a major artery.
A 72-year-old man and his son were both attacked by their pet monkey as they were attempting to get it to climb trees and retrieve fruit. It was the older man who died, although the son received an injury to his neck.
The monkey had been trained to gather coconuts from palm trees by going to something called a monkey school. In Malaysia, monkey schools teach a species called the southern pig-tailed macaque to retrieve these fruits to assist the local economy.
The murdering monkey in question was older than the ideal age for these animals to begin their training, which may be why the schooling did not turn out so well for this monkey. The son discovered that his father was lying in their coconut grove and so went to investigate when he was attacked by the monkey as well.
5. Black Bear
In 2009, a pet black bear named Teddy killed one of its owners. Despite the animal’s soft-sounding name, this was not a particularly cuddly murder. Kelly Ann and Michael Walz lived in Pennsylvania, and Michael had previously held a license as an exotic pet dealer. That license had expired by the time that his bear killed his wife.
Kelly Ann was cleaning the black bear cage one Sunday night when the accident occurred. To keep the bear occupied, she tossed a shovelful of dog food to one side of the cage while she cleaned the other side. The bear attacked her while she was cleaning.
Kelly Ann had been raising the bear for nine years—ever since it was a cub. Bear cubs are relatively easy to handle. But according to experts, any relationships that may be formed with a cub are destroyed when the bear reaches about four years old and reveals violent outbursts of behavior.
Bears have never been successfully domesticated despite attempts (especially in Russia). They are considered wild and unpredictable animals even if they have lived among humans for long periods of time.
6. Camel
Pam Weaver’s husband gave her a baby camel for her 60th birthday in 2007. Living in Australia, Weaver was an animal lover who had previously raised goats, kangaroos, emus, and rabbits.
The pet camel is believed to have knocked Pam Weaver to the ground and then straddled her body, killing her. Pam had raised the camel almost from birth, and it was just 10 months old when the tragedy happened. Reportedly, the camel had displayed erratic behavior before—such as straddling Weaver’s pet goat.
One expert stated that the strange behaviors were undoubtedly sexual in nature and that the young camel was attempting to engage in some type of mating behavior.
7. Crocodile
In January 2019, an Indonesian woman fell into an outdoor enclosure containing an illegally kept crocodile named Merry. The woman’s name was Deasy Tuwo, and she was the head of a pearl farm laboratory that produced beauty products.
It is believed that Tuwo fell into the enclosure by accident or the crocodile was able to leap far enough up the 8 ft concrete wall of the enclosure to snatch her. Crocodiles make powerful leaps using their tails to propel them almost entirely out of the water in which they are swimming.
By the time that Tuwo’s body was found, Merry had eaten one of her hands and most of her abdomen. To remove the dangerous and illegal reptile from the property, the police, the army, and conservation officials all pitched in.
8. Elephant
A man named Ram Lakhan Verma was a politician affiliated with a political party in India. As a gimmick of sorts, Verma kept an elephant as a pet that he would use during political campaigns.
In 2003, the elephant began behaving wildly. So Verma brought him to the outskirts of the village and tried to calm him down. At first, it seemed to be working, but then the elephant became enraged again.
At that point, Verma lashed out and tried to strike the animal on the forehead with a sharp iron rod. Eyewitnesses reported that the weapon ended up lodged in the elephant’s ear. Verma then lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The panicked elephant crushed him to death and then ran back toward the village. The villagers opened fire on the elephant with their guns and shot him over 200 times in total.
9. Wildebeest
The gnu, a species of African antelope often called a wildebeest, weighs hundreds of pounds, and both the males and females grow large and intimidating horns. This did not deter one man in Indiana from keeping three wildebeests as pets: an adult male, an adult female, and a calf born to the adults.
In 2004, Klaus “Dick” Radandt was trampled to death by one of his wildebeests behind his home. The coroner declared that the wildebeest had inflicted blunt force trauma to its owner’s head and chest, probably first by ramming him and then by trampling him.
What most likely set the wildebeest off on its murderous rampage? It was the beginning of the mating season. He may have been extra aggressive to prevent Radandt from being around his mate.
10. Black Mamba Snake
In Putnam, New York, a couple was keeping around 75 snakes, including a black mamba, in their home. The black mamba is considered the second-deadliest snake in the world based on its venom’s neurotoxin power.
In 2011, the 5 ft venomous reptile bit owner Aleta Stacey on her forearm. The snake is known for its venom because nearly 100 percent of bite victims will die within 20 minutes if not treated.
Stacey died from the bite, and it appeared that she had not tried to call for help of any kind. There was some discussion that the death may have been intentional, but proof of this was not found.
The possession of some of the snakes was illegal, especially because over half of them had venom known to be harmful to people (such as the cobra they also owned).
These stories serve as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of wild animals. While the idea of owning an exotic pet may seem appealing, the risks involved can be deadly. It’s crucial to consider the safety and well-being of both the animal and yourself before making such a decision.
What do you think about keeping wild animals as pets? Let us know in the comments below!
