Top 10 tragic cases with exotic pets

Many people dream of getting a pet today. There is a real competition between lovers of all kinds of animals — whose animal is bigger, more exotic, more voracious, more poisonous and, ultimately, more dangerous. In the pursuit of thrills, people often forget that communicating with an animal that is larger than an ordinary cat or a funny pug requires special knowledge, good training, a special temperament, special equipment and great physical strength. Daily contact with any large animal (even if it does not belong to dangerous predators) does not differ much from the work of a trainer. But no one, even the most talented trainer, manages to avoid painful injuries and other troubles during his career. Therefore, owners of large and dangerous animals especially often replenish the sad statistics of accidents related to animals.

1. A woman mauled by her friend's chimpanzee

Sandra Herold, a resident of the American city of Stamford, was neither a trainer nor a specialist in primates. She and her husband owned a tow truck company, and the 70-pound chimpanzee Travis was a pet, as well as the star of their advertising campaigns. He was very famous in the city — he always greeted the police, knew how to open doors with keys, water the owner's flower garden, feed horses, use cutlery and play with people, entering into a playful struggle. The monkey was so smart that he learned to use the remote control because he loved watching baseball on TV. Neighbors claimed that Travis even knew how to drive a car.

In 1996, the first unpleasant incident occurred: Travis, instead of responding to the neighbor's greeting, slightly bit her. The woman went to the police, but the case was hushed up, since by that time Sandra Harold's husband and only child had already died, and everyone knew that a lonely woman treats a monkey like a son.

In 2003, Travis caused a more serious stir. He ran away from the hostess, brawled, chased passers-by and forced the police to spend a lot of time to finally drive him into the car and take him home.

In 2009, the final tragedy played out. The day before, Travis was bitten by ticks, the monkey had to take medication and was in a bad mood. The hostess did not come up with anything better than to give him tea with the sedative "Xanax", one of the side effects of which are outbursts of unmotivated rage and psychomotor agitation.

When Sandra decided to drive her pet into the aviary, Travis got cranky. In the end, he broke up so much that Sandra, frightened, called her friend Carla Nash and asked her to come and help calm the pet. When Clara entered the house, an enraged Travis attacked her and began to bite into her face and neck — this is a favorite fighting technique of all chimpanzees. Only now 70-year-old Sandra guessed to call 911, but the operators initially decided that it was a hoax, and a few more precious minutes were lost on bickering and explanations.

When the police arrived at the scene, Travis ran up to the car, first tried to knock out the window, and then confidently opened the door. The officer sitting in the car shot and inflicted a fatal wound on the monkey. Travis ran into the house and fell dead on the threshold of his enclosure, which he so did not want to enter just a few minutes ago.

As a result of the attack, Carla Nash became completely blind, lost her hands, nose and most of her face. Huge funds were required for treatment, and the victim's family decided to recover $ 50 million from Sandra as the direct culprit of everything that happened. As a result of the litigation, they managed to get only 4 million, and Sandra Harold herself died a year after all these sad events.

2. A German killed by a spider

The events unfolded in 2004. Apparently, Mark was bitten by one of the black widows, whom he kept among other spiders and insects in his apartment. Generally speaking, the bite of the karakurt is very painful, but for most healthy adults it is not particularly dangerous.

But for some reason, 30-year-old Mark could not get out of his apartment after the bite, where he lived with his poisonous friends, nor ask for help by phone. He died all alone. The story became widely publicized only after the neighbors contacted the police because they began to worry about the corpse smell. When the police opened the ill-fated apartment, the sight of a decomposing body surrounded by numerous arthropods shocked even the battered guards.

3. Python attack on a baby

Both parents claimed that everything that happened was just a ridiculous accident, but when specialists were involved in the case, it turned out that the python was suffering from chronic hunger, and most likely the reason for this was not abuse, but elementary ignorance of the rules of keeping pythons in captivity. In the end, the grief-stricken parents were accused of extreme negligence towards both the child and the animal, and sent to jail for 12 years.

4. A man killed by a tiger he kept as a pet

5. The woman killed by the wolves

6. Attack of a domestic baribal

7. Attack of a domestic viper

The tragedy happened during the national holiday of the USA — Labor Day. One of the very poisonous vipers for unknown reasons bit his mistress. The venom of the viper acts rather slowly, so the woman was able to get to the nearest hospital on her own. But the doctors were already powerless, and after three days of agony, the snake lover died. When the representatives of the law entered her house after the woman's death, to their horror they found ten poisonous snakes, several large alligators and many other, safe, reptiles there.

8. A man killed by a lion

9. Attack of a domestic camel

Sixty-year-old owner of a large livestock farm, Pam Weaver, was given a camel for her birthday. These animals are generally distinguished by a complex and quarrelsome character, but a particular camel turned out to be especially vicious. He had no relationship with the rest of the herd, and he tried to kill his mistress's beloved goat several times. Once, while in a rut, a camel knocked down Weaver herself, and then trampled her to death.

10. Attack of a domestic cougar on a child