Man killed by swan

[mistermack]

Has anybody seen this before? It seems awfully odd.

Man killed by swan in Chicago

It also seems odd that a swan could flip a kayak, or that the man wasn't wearing a bouyancy aid.

[Svartalf]

No, Geese are LARGE birds, and pretty aggressive, swans even more so. and kayaks are not the stablest of craft

I've heard it said that the "law" saying that all swans in Britain belong to the king was more to avoid people getting killed than to reserve hunting rights to the sovereign.

and if the guy drowned in part due to lack of proper safety precautions, then this might become a darwin award.

[Rum]

I used to do a canoe rallay from Hereford to Ross on Wye when I lived down that way years ago. A lovely if exhausting ride down 25 miles of England's most beautiful landscape. I did it four times in all.

The event took place in June when swans and other birds have newly hatched offspring and on the second trip down the river I must have come too close to a nest because a very large swan came hurtling at me three or four feet about the water, aiming directly for my head. If I hadn't ducked I would have had at the very least a nasty smack on the head- worse probably.

I paddled like mad as fast as I could away from the area!

They are well known to be aggressive at times and I have always stayed away from them since, canoe or otherwise!

[Clinton Huxley]

See, if that chap had had a gun.....

[Atheist-Lite]

See, if that chap had had a gun.....

....he'd have been able to shoot himself and save the disgrace of being killed by a ugly duckling.

[klr]

No, Geese are LARGE birds, and pretty aggressive, swans even more so. and kayaks are not the stablest of craft
...

Yup, being flipped may have had something to do with the surprise, and/or a sudden attempt to get out of the way.

I've only seen swans charging other swans myself. That and try to "drown" another swan by forcing its head under water.

[Clinton Huxley]

Swans are mental. They should be pushing supermarket trolleys full of cans, muttering themselves and occasionally shouting "Fucking Bismark!"

[mistermack]

I just bought a kayak, with the intention of using it this summer, after a break of about thirty years, so I was interested in that story.
Thirty years ago, the kayak I had was ancient, so it was big and solid. They're a lot smaller now.
But I used to shove inner tubes up the ends, and inflate them, so that it wouldn't sink.
And modern ones have similar flotation devices.

Most people these days wear a bouyancy aid anyway, which would have saved his life.
It sounds very amateur all round.

When I was very small, my Irish aunt told me that if they got a chance, the ganders would peck off my willie. So I always kept one hand on it and stood behind her.

[Bella Fortuna]

Swans are mental. They should be pushing supermarket trolleys full of cans, muttering themselves and occasionally shouting "Fucking Bismark!"

YOUR VIEWS HAVE BEEN NOTED AND WILL BE REVIEWED FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION.

[Clinton Huxley]

I was partaking of a constitutional perambulation around Pennington Flash a month ago and the swans were feeding on some weeds at the edge of the water. Most were fairly chilled but there was one that went absolutely berserk whenever another swan came within about 10 feet of it.

[klr]

I was partaking of a constitutional perambulation around Pennington Flash a month ago and the swans were feeding on some weeds at the edge of the water. Most were fairly chilled but there was one that went absolutely berserk whenever another swan came within about 10 feet of it.

It probably had a disadvantaged upbringing. We shouldn't judge it too harshly. [/bleeding heart mode]

[Clinton Huxley]

I was partaking of a constitutional perambulation around Pennington Flash a month ago and the swans were feeding on some weeds at the edge of the water. Most were fairly chilled but there was one that went absolutely berserk whenever another swan came within about 10 feet of it.

It probably had a disadvantaged upbringing. We shouldn't judge it too harshly. [/bleeding heart mode]

Haha, there probably weren't enough youth centres for it to play pool in when it was young.

[mistermack]

I was partaking of a constitutional perambulation around Pennington Flash a month ago and the swans were feeding on some weeds at the edge of the water. Most were fairly chilled but there was one that went absolutely berserk whenever another swan came within about 10 feet of it.

It probably had a disadvantaged upbringing. We shouldn't judge it too harshly. [/bleeding heart mode]

This one in Chicago won't need to offer mitigating circumstances.

The guy was on private property, and the swan can claim self defence, and that it was in genuine fear of it's life.
If it's daddy has a bit of influence, it should be fine.

[klr]

I was partaking of a constitutional perambulation around Pennington Flash a month ago and the swans were feeding on some weeds at the edge of the water. Most were fairly chilled but there was one that went absolutely berserk whenever another swan came within about 10 feet of it.

It probably had a disadvantaged upbringing. We shouldn't judge it too harshly. [/bleeding heart mode]

This one in Chicago won't need to offer mitigating circumstances.

The guy was on private property, and the swan can claim self defence, and that it was in genuine fear of it's life.
If it's daddy has a bit of influence, it should be fine.

Ah, but is the swan really white? That's what I want to know.

[Clinton Huxley]

The swan has been taken in for questioning. It hasn't said anything, though. It's mute.