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Subscribe to RSSA 37-year-old father of two drowned Saturday in the pond at a Des Plaines, Ill., area apartment complex following an altercation with a swan, local reports say.
Anthony Hensley, who worked for a company that uses swans and dogs to keep geese away, was in a kayak as he checked on the community's swans. When one of the swans swam toward him, the kayak flipped over and he fell out, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“His kayak wasn’t upside down, but it was, like, upwards,” witness Daniel Gamanov told CBS Chicago. “You could see the tip of it.”
Police said at least one of the swans kept moving toward Hensley as he tried to swim to shore.
“They probably thought that he was going too close to their eggs, and they were too scared, and they just attacked him,” Gamanov said.
Hensley's father, Raymond Hensley, told the TV station his son was a good swimmer, but that he was fully clothed and wearing boots when he fell in the water. The autopsy confirmed Hensley drowned.
Hensley's daughters were not immediately told their father hadn't made it back from work, the TV station reported.
“They’re too young. They just know their father is not here, and they don’t know why," Raymond Hensley told the station. "It’s tragic for him to have to spend the last few moments like that. That’s always my worst fear, drowning."
Hensley liked working with animals, his father-in-law George Koutsogiannis told the Sun-Times. “Maybe he didn’t fight back enough when the swan attacked him. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt the animal. I can’t understand how this was possible,” Koutsogiannis said.
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I'm sorry all I can think of is that old Cosby routine where St. Peter asks you how you died and you tell him something stupid* like "I was drowned by swans" and he says "You go to hell"
Yes bad taste, yes I hate myself, yes I went there anyway.
*in the original he was driving in SF in a stick shift, stopped at the top of a hill, couldn't shift fast enough to get going and rolled back in to the bay
My father had swans at the golf course he ran and one time when he went to adjust the watering system, in a shed near the swans nest, one flew at him in a rage. He ran it over with the golf cart he was driving, lucky both survived. Swans can be extremely frightening.
My sympathies to the family,,,,,May his soul rest in peace.
I don't understand. It doesn't say in this article how the swan "attacked" him, just how it swam after him. MSNBC, are you sensationalizing as usual?
sorry double post
Very sad. I hope there is enough life insurance and other compensation so the family doesn't have any money problems.
according to KTLA.COM "Hensley reportedly did not have life insurance, and a memorial fund was set up to help his family."
:( So sad...
Should have know something was wrong, when the swan yelled "duck".....
What is not mentioned in this story is that the Swan sat on Tony pushing him under the water keeping him from getting to the surface.
Swans and peacocks are both wicked mean birds.
But something about this just isn't adding up. I've gotten into scraps with geese and swans before, and while I certainly can't say any of it was enjoyable, I do know there's no way a mere bird, or even a flock of them, would take me down, let alone make me flip a kayak. A peck or bite is going to hurt, but a kayak paddle or a good swift kick is going to make bird into dinner.
These birds, like any creatures among us, was minding his/her birdy business! What was the case here then? Was the bird on 'family-medical leave' and he was bothering it? How could you 'hire' animals, especially these, who are naturally unpredictable? Smh!
lol its a dumb bird ,but he was dumber ,he should have just broke its neck ! would have made a nice "ovenstuffer"
MARK S-971793 you are a jerk. A man is dead in a very tragic random way and you make jokes and "lol"?
At least he doesn't have to live with the humiliation of being killed by a,,,, swan?..seriously?
Will they rename the pond Swan Lake?
With a bird. grab it with two fingers around the neck and snap it. You could do the same with politicians, their neck is the same size. but their fat buts prevent the process. They can sling sh++t, we can't.
When I was little I saw a girl get attacked by a swan once. To be fair she was bothering it. She was little and her parents didn't do anything to make her stop. The swan opened its wings big and then bit her. She bled big time!
Swans are nasty birds. A large body operated by a brain the size of a pea. They are be a formidible foe. A baseball bat works real well on them as does a 12 gauge with 4 shot.
Thanks.
I think I'd like a machete. That long neck looks like a vulnerable spot to target. Although the shotgun is good, too, but bigger & more awkward to try to manuver in tight quarters.
Humans are pretty weak in the water. A couple of 25 pound swams attacking would be more than enought to sink a person. There is a youtube video of a swam attacking a man in a kayak. The swam knocked him over and kicked his ass, luckily he was wearing a vest.
George Swannerman
I used to hand feed the Swans on Browns Creek on Long Island. I first met swans on the Thames River Maidenhead England as a child. They are not as dangerous as most people think, although the Mute (or white swan can be quite aggressive if provoked) They are not indigenous to the United States and are displacing the American Black Swan. The inside of the beak is plated and feels a little like a wood rasp, but not quite as sharp, if you feed them they will follow you and hiss (Somewhat like a snake) they are beautiful birds; but do not tend to take kindly to any disruption, especially if there are eggs or Signets involved. It is a shame the young man died, his employer should have provided a more stable craft than a Kayak, they tip too easily. A flat bottomed punt would be more appropriate it is a bit wider in beam and is designed to be poled by a standing person, Also it should be a mandatory requirement that employers provide floatation devices, these should be worn at all times. Service men wear Life Jackets; even on the dock. All the future precautions will not replace the life of a person well loved and missed by his Family. Hopefully it will help prevent such a horrible accident in the future.
I can not suficiently expres my condolences to the family, there are no words. With Caring, Gordon
Where is this "attack" by the swan? I see the swans "swimming towards him", his boat flipping and then "at least one bird moving toward him" as he tried to make it to shore -- and not ONE part of the whole incident where any actual contact between man and bird is mentioned. Some "attack".
Peckerwood be a racist.
Somewhere a member of PETA is cheering..........
BG Swans CAN NOT Bite. THEY HAVE NO teeth.
THEY ABSOLUTELY CAN BITE. I saw it happen. Not only that- it is FACT they have jagged serrated like edges on their beaks which will break skin when they bite or peck you. Look it up. Or better yet, go pester a swan and let it bite you if you don't believe me.
Bite, peck, whatever you prefer to call it, they still draw blood & leave ugly, ragged wounds.
Swans build their nests in the Spring and are very protective. They are beautiful - keep your distance, admire them from afar.
Kinda like human beings....
Kind of but don't you think that animals are so much more logical, moral, understandable and deserving of respect than people?
Yes.
I'm not sure the idea of 'morals' apply to animals, but, yes, on the whole they make a heck of a lot sense than humans.
Moral in that they don't kill without reason
Wow, I had no idea swans were so violent, they seem so regal and peaceful. I don't think I've ever heard of someone getting attacked by a swan.
Poor man. I wish someone could have helped him. His family must be distraught, especially his little girls.
Swans, like any other animal, can be aggressive when protecting their young; but, as tragic as this accident was, the swan is not responsible for the man's death other than startling him. To hold the swan responsible, like the man's dumb-ass father, is asinine.
Actually it does say the swans attacked him. Reread it. “They probably thought that he was going too close to their eggs, and they were too scared, and they just attacked him,” Gamanov said.
Trumpeter swans are native, Mutes are introduced and I guess could be called invasive as they chase off the Trumpeter swans. This story is for all the urban Walt Disney watching animal worshippers that think that the only dangerous animal is man. Still its a fluke.
The fact remains, though, that there is no specific mention of ANY contact between human and bird - just two references to them coming towards him. That does not equal an "attack". A true "attack" by swans would involve beating with the wings and attacking with the head/neck/bill - none of which is mentioned, as it surely would be if that was what actually happened. What actually happened, as per this article, is the man panicked when approached by the swans (rightfully so, given how ferocious an attack could have been, IF it had happened) and overturned his own boat and then drowned in the panic.
"as it surely would be if that was what actually happened. " Since WHEN does the news list ALL the facts?? I read other stories from different news sources and they say that the man kept trying to swim to shore but the bird kept flying at him and attacking. I love animals but the fact is, they CAN be responsible for the death of a person. They aren't like people who attack out of a love for violence or out of hate, but they can cause death.