They are pretty mean, but no meaner than Canada Geese. Both birds are belligerent to the point of suicidal during mating season. I had a goose inadvertently commit suicide when it charged my car in my driveway (got a pond in my back yard they love). Swans are bigger, though, so I could understand why someone would be running from one, especially in the water.

Mr Phea

Really? How about sticking to the story at hand. None of what you say about Al Sharpton or George Zimmerman is going to bring back Trayvon Martin- Go to another vine about that specific story, ya donkey there is plenty of room there for you to voice your opinion.

My best wishes to the Hensley family. May he rest in peace with the Doves!!

Very strange indeed. May he rest in peace and his daughters learn of his loss with the least amount of saddness.

Get back under your bridge, pal. There's a billy goat headed your way.

“Maybe he didn’t fight back enough when the swan attacked him. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt the animal.

Let me see.........my life or the Swan's...........yep mine I would want to see my kids grow up.

I don't care who thinks what, if a swan was coming at me I would do what ever it took to kill it. That goes for anything that I thought would bring me any type of danger.

That goes for anything that I thought would bring me any type of danger.

Yea but when was the last time you saw someone killed by a swan? lol. I'm 38 and this is a first for me.

Talk about rotten luck. My heart goes out to the loved ones left behind.

Yea but when was the last time you saw someone killed by a swan?

Swans normally hide the bodies.

I have a scar on my shin from a goose attack when I was a little kid. Mama chased me into some rocks and I fell. My dad chased her away. We have a lake here that has several geese. They bite your feet just to be nasty.
I understand swans are meaner. And bigger. A friend of mine routinely fends them off with her nine-iron when they attack her on the golf course. Funny image.

My condolences to this man's family. A really tragic turn of events.

What a sad, yet embarrassing way to go. Being pecked to death by a Swan/bird.

RIP, and hopefully he doesn't pizz off any angels with wings.

jussayin-

He wasn't killed by a swan. He drowned when he fell into the water and tried to flee from the swans. Had he worn a life jacket, he'd still be alive.

I hope they arrest the swan before Al Sharpton gets to town

How sad of a person do you have to be to use someones death (actually two peoples deaths) as a springboard for your hate? Don't answer, it's a rhetorical question. I already know the answer.

A baby just died being delivered somewhere. If you hurry, you can blame Al Sharpton for it.

@NYMike

How sad of a person do you have to be to use someones death (actually two peoples deaths) as a springboard for your hate? Don't answer, it's a rhetorical question. I already know the answer.

Apparently not sad enough to prevent you from doing pretty much the same thing.

A baby just died being delivered somewhere. If you hurry, you can blame Al Sharpton for it.

kaybeetoys He wasn't killed by a swan.

Yes he was. The swans prevented him from getting to safety.

If the man couldn't swim, then he should have learned to stay out of deep and shallow waters.

He wasn't killed by a swan. He drowned when he fell into the water and tried to flee from the swans. Had he worn a life jacket, he'd still be alive.

The man could swim well according to his father, no matter the clothing or work boots with the adrenaline pumping he could have made it to shore. The Swan certainly had a big part in his death. But he wasn't pecked to death or anything.

Hmm i dont know if stand your ground applies to swans but it better get a good lawyer. I dont know why they have anything aginst geese anyway thers wild geese that spend most the summer at my pound and i think there cool, kinda a gressive for a bird but are scared of people just dont show them any fear.

Man, that's awful. Two little girls lose their dad to a freakin' swan attack. Bigger water fowl like swans and geese have always creeped me out, and I've had more than a few run-ins with them out on the golf course. Good thing I usually have a club in my hands, and a bag full of spares just in case. Such a sad and bizarre story though.

I was attacked by a swan before. They're vicious! Stay at least 15 feet away from them!

MOmaid

But the swan was doing what came naturally, by defending his neighborhood. So the comparisons to the Zimmerman/Martin case are not too far fetched.

How many think the SWAN should be found guilty of murder?

Well, if the swan was white and the man was black and wearing a hoodie, he must've be guilty of somethin.

I am pretty sure that the boots had more to do with his death than the swans. Just saying.

Life Vest??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

He that Liveth by the Swan, Shall Die by the Swan... so saith the Lord.

The swans are apparently 'overqualified.'

Sad - but if there's any silver lining, at least he went out in a remarkable way. When I shuffle off the mortal coil, I hope it's via some dramatic and bizarre way that makes it to the news

... and i've wasted nearly ten years of training on white crane kung fu. Apparantly, swan style is where it's at.

They should tell his daughter's that the Stork took him.

RIP Man. May your fam find peace.

At least he doesn't have to live with the humiliation of being killed by a,,,, swan?..seriously?

People don't know who dangerous swans can be. I've read accounts of them breaking bones with the force of their wings. One of my friends was horseback riding on the road here and even though she did not approach the swans in a pond on the side of the road one of the swans sent after the horse and chased her down the road.

Apparently not sad enough to prevent you from doing pretty much the same thing.

Don't confuse the truth for hate. One only needs to read that persons posting history to realise they would have done exactly what I stated.

Khalid said:

Sad - but if there's any silver lining, at least he went out in a remarkable way. When I shuffle off the mortal coil, I hope it's via some dramatic and bizarre way that makes it to the news

I'm seeing drone attack for Khalid, for some reason.

The people yammering comparisons about the Martin/Zimmerman story are complete idiots and tools. This story is about a freaking bird and an unfortunate death, ok you partisan/racial-tension hacks???

You do know it's against the Newsvine code to derail a non-related story like that into your pathetic talking points and bigotry right?

Dangerous Mind:

I think those comments were attempts at humor. They were comparing human black on white crime, to the possible situation of having either a black swan attack a white man, or vice versa. The root of the comment was the fact that swans are either black or white. None of it was too serious. Of course, swans do not wear hoodies, and of course, swans do not carry firearms. If the human had a hoodie, it would look less intimidated being all soggy and wrapped around a flailing man. If the human had a gun, it would probably not be operable. Dangerous Mind? I think it's more like A Beautiful Mind--a bit confused by all the internal conflicts. *

*note: A Beautiful Mind is the name of a movie.**

**note: a movie is a series of still photos that are flashed in quick succession to give the appearance of live action.

The swan probably thought it was in florida practicing its 'stand your ground' right.

My condolences to the family.

MOmaid

I'm sorry you had to bring your racial bias to a sad story about a father who lost his life. But since you did . . .

Mr. Zimmerman was not ". . . defending HIS neighborhood." Young Mr. Martin's family lived in this neighborhood, too. "Defending" implies that Zimmerman was warding off attack from someone. He was NOT. HE was the aggressor. So Martin was actually defending himself against the attack from Zimmerman.

The swan may have been doing what comes "naturally" (protecting its offspring), but do you really think what Zimmerman did was natural??? Carrying around a gun just hoping for "suspicious-looking" people to stalk, harass and shoot? Why don't you just give it up, and go pray or something for the soul of this poor man who drowned in that pond -- and yours.

I believe that MoMaid was using sarcasm Deb.

However I never realized that swans were so territorial, sad that he died. :(

If the swans are indeed able to survive when in direct competition with humans, then we can expect swans to evolve where humans are subservient to them, and possibly used as food.

I've hated birds, big or small, since I was attacked by a gaggle of geese when I was little. I feel so bad for these little girls who lost their daddy.

I don't get it at all!! All a full grown adult has to do is punch or kick the swan hard in the head or neck or body, and that would seriously hurt the swan. A child could have a problem though, because the swan could be much bigger and stronger than the child. I think this article is very, very misleading. If a swan ever attacked me, I would kick it around like a soccer ball and use it for a punching bag. If I was in the water I could still punch it hard enough to stop it. They are not giving us the full story here! There is something wrong with this picture!!

You try getting close enough to kick or punch when they are using their massive wings to beat you with. I suggest you get close enough to a goose or a swan and see how easily you can fend off a bird that is 60 inches in length, weighs over 33 pounds, and can have a wing span of up to 10 ft. That is some serious muscle right there.

No one in their right mind would let their kids near a typical apartment-complex pond in the first place. They function as a drainage function for the complex and usually aren't put there entirely for aesthetic reasons. You wouldn't let your kid play in a runoff culvert, would you? So there's no reason to let them play near a pond like that. They're usually pretty weedy and algae-choked as the summer goes on, so they're not really pleasant to be around.

And you can't blame the swans and geese for nesting there. It's basically their version of a birdhouse. If you create an ideal habitat for them, they're going to move in.

Apartment retention ponds are toxic cesspools that are filled with toxic, contaminated water. I used to watch the water that ran off the parking lots and streets in our apartment complex into the "beautiful lakes and ponds" we had. The first 5-10 minutes after a heavy rain the water running from the culvert that drained the surrounding parking lots and streets ran black as coal oil (e.g., oil, gas, anti-freeze, rubber, etc.). Who knows what toxins were carried into the pond? NEVER let your kids or pets play in a retention pond that apartment complexes refer to as "beautiful lakes"

My sincerest sympathies to the family.

If you do have swans in your neighborhood pond I suggest that you educate the children. Be sure to tell them about the 3ooolb monsters going up and down the street,they're deadly!

I didn't read anywhere that " some kids" were near the apartment complex pond? The guy went there to check on the swans--part of his duty.

RIP..... This is a sad way to go.

Chris629698,

Thanks for a good, commonsense answer. This poor guy was only there because it was part of his job.

In answer to someone who didn't know swans could be mean. Geese (domestic and Canadian) can be extremely mean, especially near their nesting areas, swans also, and as someone else said, swans are big. Both animals can look very threatening, and are persistent.

In general, I think almost any animal can be aggressive during times there are nests and/or babies. It's their strongest instinct.

I really feel for the man, he sounds very kind (not wanting to hurt the birds). It's not a stupid mistake, it's just one of those things, once the kayak took on water, he was weighted down, trying to avoid this swan, it just all added up to a tragedy.

His kids can be proud of their dad.

If he had fought back and injured or killed the swan not only would he had been fired, but the public out cry of ignorant animals lovers would had crucified him in the public media . God forbid if anyone protect themselves in this day and age. It is a no win situation.

I believe there is a "mute" swan which is introduced and also a couple of Native swan varieties in North America. I wonder which this was.

Are swans good eatin'?

A couple of friends from college and I were backpacking across Europe many years ago, we were attacked by a flock of angry swans as we sat on the lawn by the lake in Geneva to have lunch. I knew then how mean swans are. It was July, not their mating season. I recently took my son hiking in a state park, a pair of geese blocked the trail, raised their wings and HISSED as us like snakes. We stood there silently until they decided to go elsewhere but I had my hiking stick ready to strike if they decide to come after my boy.

They are a nasty, mean invasive bird species. Watch your dogs carefully, especially retriever-types that like the water. Swans and Canada geese will try to tire out a dog in the water, take them way out deep to drown them. Around where I live, people feed swans and there is a swan "fan club". That's like having a fan club for zebra mussels or sea lampreys or Dutch Elm disease.

I thought this was a bit strange as well. I've been chased by ducks and was absolutely terrified but never a swan.

From this story, it's not clear the swans actually attacked him. Did they physically attack, or did he accidentally flip the kayak when they swam toward him?

From this story, it's not clear the swans actually attacked him. Did they physically attack, or did he accidentally flip the kayak when they swam toward him?

From what it sounds like, I guess the guy got too close and was in the process of trying to get to shore and flipped the kayak. The swan was coming at him, but there was no physical injury from the animal. At least that is what I gathered until more confirmed information is given.

@flbikerchick,

yeah, you'd think any employer would be better prepared to control their 'employees.'

Shampoo is better. I go on first and clean the hair. Conditioner is better. I leave the hair silky and smooth.

I know nothing about swans, but I am only too aware that Canada Geese will leave any green space totally unusable with their excrement. If swans can keep geese away, that would cover a multitude of sins by the swans.

In Michigan we are so over run with Canadian geese, that swans are put on ponds. One pair of swans will keep the whole area clear of geese.

Many people have built private ponds and lakes here. It is the on going thing.

The geese leave piles of poop the size of 6 shoes all over the place. One can't get near the ponds for stepping in it. They also spread diseases, including salmonella in the poop. They are nasty and aggressive driving anyone away from the wet lands. The regular duck species are low because the geese have taken over the wet lands. If the animal lovers and gun banning lovers wouldn't whine so much, the geese hunting season could be open up more for control over the species.

With the warmer winters the Canadian geese live in Michigan almost year around now. They used to fly over to other breeding grounds. It is a nasty problem. The swans do help control the problem.

Hunting season (or even open season) on Canada geese would not help much. Most of the ones who are pests are in places where it is illegal to discharge a gun or crossbow, like cities, towns, and suburbs.

In some states, Canada geese are considered migratory, and cannot be distrubed in any way. It seems like a subspecies started evolving about 15 or 20 years ago which no longer migrate.

I used to see and hear multiple large honking flocks of their flying V formations going north in the spring and heading south in the fall. I no longer see those great migrating flocks. Do any of them migrate any more?

Very good point.

Yeah Lynn I caught that to. How could he drown from having a swan swim towards him? If the swan was on the attack and he wasn't wearing a life jacket I can see that. Very few details in this story,hopefully we'll here more soon.

The article does say the swans were afraid he was getting to close to the eggs and they attacked him

Actually, the story indicated that the swans may have thought he was getting too close to the eggs (speculating since the reason the swan started approaching is not actually known)..again, nothing in there that says the swan actually made physical contact such as using their beaks or wings to ward him off..just swam towards Hensely. The word "attacked" is being used here only to add drama unless the bird made actual physical contact.

I don't see speculation here that the bird flipped or caused the kayak to flip. Going ONLY on what is written here, I am thinking that Hensley saw the bird approaching, made too tight a turn with the kayak in the effort to put distance between them, flipped the kayak and then couldn't get to the shore.

He was wearing boots. A guys not going last long swimming with boots on.

Swans attack unprovoked. They seem sleek and passive, but looks are deceiving as a rose with thorns.

I don't think so. It could have been a Tiger or Bull swan, but I think it was a Great White Swan.

I freaking hate peacocks. They are mean SOB's.

Its kinda' like your clothes catching on fire. You start running (not a good idea) to get to a water hose. but in a panic - you end up running over a cliff and break your neck.

The cause of death was the fall which resulted in you breaking your neck ... but it fact, if you weren't on fire, you wouldn't have been running and if you were running for some reason ... you would have not missed seeing the edge of the cliff, where you fell and broke your neck.

Q. What was the root cause?

A. Going in the pond without backup. someone to divert the attention of the Swans or cover you if you got into trouble. The Swans were just doing the job they were put there to do... protect the pond.

Note: most of these apartment ponds are usually pretty shallow - I've never seen one more than 5 - 6 ft deep, unless we're talking about a Lake - even then they are hardly more than 10 - 12 ft (20 ft deep at the max).

Why the rage? The article does not mention whether or not he was wearing a life jacket.

you have a family with two young children and no floating vest? this is sad , shouldn't have happened.