most devastating animal attacks around the world!

10 – San Francisco Zoo Tiger Attack, • On Christmas Day 2007, Tatiana the tiger

escaped her grotto enclosure at San Francisco Zoo and fatally mauled a seventeen-year-old

boy. Carlos Eduardo Sousa Jr. had his jugular vein slashed by the ferocious animal. Although

never proven, many believe Carlos attracted the tiger’s ire by taunting it. Rookie mistake.

• Two brothers also suffered severe bites and claw wounds and were lucky to have escaped

with their lives. • Tatiana was brought to the San Francisco

Zoo in 2005 and had previously showed signs of aggression when she clawed and bit a veteran

zookeeper. • The scene on Christmas was chaotic, with

police delayed in their arrival. Twenty minutes after her escape, Tatiana had to be shot by

a zoo team member. • This was the first visitor fatality caused

by an animal escape in the history of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

9 – Charla Nash Chimp Attack, • In 2009, Charla Nash was brutally maimed

by her friend’s chimpanzee, Travis. The 200-pound primate ripped off Nash’s nose,

lips, eyelids, and hands, and was shot dead by a police officer in self-defence.

• Travis famously appeared in television shows and commercials, including the Maury

Povich Show and ads for Coca-Cola. He had exhibited no past violent behaviours; however,

in 2003, he escaped his owner’s car at a busy intersection and chased a man who had

thrown something at their vehicle. That incident led to a new Connecticut law prohibiting people

from keeping primates heavier than fifty pounds as pets.

• Since her attack, Charla Nash has had a full face transplant. Unfortunately, doctors

were forced to remove her eyes because of a disease transmitted by the chimp, and an

attempted hand transplant failed because Nash’s body rejected it.

• The U.S. Military has reportedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist

with Nash’s physical rehabilitation. They believe the research could serve disfigured

soldiers returning from war. 8 – Maddox Derkosh Wild Dogs Attack,

• Maddox Derkosh was a two-year-old boy who, in 2012, met a tragic death when he fell

off a wooden rail into Pittsburgh Zoo’s African wild painted dogs enclosure.

• The boy had poor vision, so his mother had lifted him up to give him a better view

of the dogs. Maddox lunged forward to get a better view and fell eleven feet, bouncing

off protective netting and into the pit, where eleven hungry dogs pounced on him.

• The autopsy later confirmed the boy survived the fall, but died from the severe blood loss

caused by the attack. 7 – Azaria Chamberlain Disappearance,

• Azaria Chamberlain was a nine-week-old infant who was tragically eaten by a dingo

in Australia’s Northern Territory in 1980. • Azaria’s mother, Lindy Chamberlain,

immediately contacted police to report that a dingo had stolen her baby. Lindy was trialled

and eventually convicted of first-degree murder because there was insufficient evidence to

suggest the dingo even existed. The case was highly controversial.

• During the trial, Lindy Chamberlain had been adamant Azaria was wearing a matinée

jacket over her jumpsuit at the time of her disappearance. In 1986, police discovered

Azaria’s missing jacket in an area full of dingo lairs while investigating an unrelated

incident. The Northern Territory Chief Minister immediately ordered the Chamberlain’s release

and the case was officially closed. • The 1988 film A Cry in the Dark, starring

Meryl Streep, depicts the events of the Chamberlain case.

6 – Bethany Hamilton Shark Attack, • In 2003, thirteen-year-old surfer Bethany

Hamilton was attacked by a shark while surfing in Tunnels Beach, Kaui. She’d been lying

on her surfboard, with one arm in the water, when a hungry tiger shark swam up and ripped

off her arm, permanently severing it. • The attack occurred at 7.30 in the morning

and Hamilton lost an astonishing sixty percent of her blood. Fortunately, a doctor living

in a nearby hotel came to her rescue and she miraculously survived.

• The offending tiger shark was hunted down and killed, and Hamilton returned to surfing

three weeks later. The broken surfboard Hamilton rode during the attack is on display at the

California Surf Museum. 5 – Roy Horn Tiger Attack,

• Our second tiger entry – seriously, don’t mess with these creatures!

• In 2003, during a Siegfried and Roy show at the mirage, performer Roy Horn was attacked

by the seven-year-old tiger he trained and worked with.

• For reasons unknown, Mantecore the tiger lunged at Horn during the middle of the show.

Horn was dragged off stage, leaving audience members nervously clapping, wondering whether

it was all part of the show. • By the time emergency workers arrived,

Horn had sustained breathing difficulties. He’d suffered substantial blood loss and

was rushed to the Trauma Centre of a nearby Nevada Medical Centre. Horn remained in a

critical condition for weeks following the attack and had to have part of his skull removed

to reduce pressure on his brain. • Despite all this, he had no hard feelings

towards the tiger and continued to work with him.

4 – Dawn Brancheau Orca Attack, • In February 2010, a SeaWorld Orlando trainer

named Dawn Brancheau was killed after a 12,300-pound killer whale attacked her during a ‘Dine

with Shamu’ show. • Tilikum the whale reportedly yanked Brancheau

by her ponytail and dragged her down to the bottom of the pool. Witnesses who were there

claimed that by the time Tilikum and Brancheau were underwater, he had her by the waist and

the pool quickly turned red. • The incident is recounted in the 2013

documentary Blackfish. The film features interviews with SeaWorld staff, who claimed Tilikum’s

depression and other behavioural issues stemmed from the horrendous conditions he was kept

in. • Tilikum is the largest Orca in captivity

and has, incredibly, played roles in the deaths of three people.

3 – William Winans Python Attack, • Less-than-a-year-old William Winans was

chilling, asleep in his crib one night, when a freak python appeared and wrapped itself

around his foot, constricting and attempting to eat it.

• The python was discovered when William’s father came into the room at 11 p.m. to investigate

William’s crying. Thinking quickly, William’s dad removed the snake using a blanket. William

was then rushed to hospital, having sustained bruises, scratches and a bite mark.

• The python is believed to have been a pet that had escaped from a neighbour’s

apartment. William’s mother said she had never seen any pythons around, and that someone

had clearly violated the building’s no-animals policy.

• This demonstrates how easily escaped pets can become dangerous predators. Would never

happen with goldfish, though. Those are okay. 2 – Darla Napora Pit Bull Attack,

• Darla Napora was a pregnant thirty-two-year-old Pit Bull advocate who was found mauled to

death in her California living room. Her carpet was soaked with blood when she was discovered

by her husband and reports say she was unresponsive and not breathing.

• The offending canine was Napora’s two-year-old pet Pit Bull, which was immediately put down

when it later escaped the confines of its backyard.

• Napora had been a member of Bay Area’s ‘Dog Lovers Responsible about Pit Bulls’,

a group campaigning to convince the public that pit bulls are safe to own. It’s unknown

whether she was killed by the vicious dog attack or the huge dose of irony.

1 – Kerala Festival Elephant Rampage, • There has been an alarming rise in elephant

attacks and tramplings during Hindu festivals. • In the southern Indian state of Kerala,

elephants are customarily adorned with a decorative cloth called caparison and used in ceremonial

festivals. The world’s only Elephant Palace, located near the famous Guruvayur temple,

houses more than sixty captive elephants, which are called upon during festivals.

• Ordinarily, elephants and humans coexist peacefully. However, there have been recent

reports of elephants going berserk during festivals, killing their trainers and severely

injuring more hundreds of onlookers. • Between 1998 and 2010, more than two hundred

and twelve people have reportedly died from elephant attacks. Can’t we all just get

along?