Oryx kills American
 

I guess it's not only the "lions, tigers and bears" that we should be wary of.

On a farm in Namibia, a 65 yr old American set out on a walk with the aim to take some photographs and was attacked and killed by an Oryx. Crazy!

http://tinyurl.com/qgycg

Too much Mad Mike and Mark and not enough sense?

at least the Oryx didn't chew off his "family jewels"...

Jeez, how close was too close?

I'm always wary of the horned antelopes. I've seen a topi chase and continuously ram a landcruiser. Those bone-shattering thuds completely wrecked the body work of the vehicle.

Oh jeez, one more thing to worry about...
Cindy

It's weird, once I was chased (really chased) by a deer while running with my <i>pit bull terrier</i> in the Berkeley hills. I thought it was funny at first, but as it started gaining on me I got really worried it was going to...attack me.

So yes, it's official. I'm afraid of all wild animals. And this article just confirms my fears. ;)

Well, horns don’t just look good - they are for using them.

Africa,
That must have been a really annoying Landcruiser.

Oryx r known to have killed lions!!
unlike other antelopes of similar mass

Am I the only one who can't access the link?

<b>Am I the only one who can't access the link?</b>

Patty, try this one ... http://www.namibian.com.na/2006/Sept...646B969F8.html

I can access the link.
Sable too are known for attacking lions, but I think they’re bigger than oryx.

Thanks, Bill but that doesn't seem to work for me either. I can't even access the home page, bizarre.

A zookeeper once told me that when their deer (buck) was in rut that it was the most dangerous animal she worked with. Personally I consider a female moose with a calf the most dangerous animal in Colorado to be close to.

Any animal can be aggresive when put into a fight or flight position and when they have tools like horns and a good body mass they can be every bit as dangerous as a predator but due to lack of respect people are much more apt to be too close or non-attentive to the situation where they would be more cautious with a predator.

Very sad, sorry to hear this news.

Patty, the whole article isn't much more than what I wrote here.

The gemsbok attacked the 65-year-old American between 08h00 and 09h00 on Thursday, the Namibian Police reported on Friday.

A Police spokesperson, Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi, added yesterday that it was reported that the man had set out on a walk with the aim to take some photographs earlier that morning.

He apparently encountered the gemsbok, got too close to the animal, and was attacked and killed.

The incident happened at farm Avitra along the Gobabis-Nina road, the Police reported.

&quot;but due to lack of respect people are much more apt to be too close or non-attentive to the situation...&quot; Pred.

This is the reason why I was always less than lukewarm about the Crocodile Hunter. Undoubtedly a wonderful bloke with his heart in the right place but he set a poor example, especially to the immature (whether young or old) and the unreasoning. Do you know some idiots in Queensland are now 'avenging' Irwin's death by killing stingrays?

John

I heard about the &quot;revenge&quot; stingray killings. How utterly STUPID! :(

Nyamera

I watched the whole scene unfold and although you will find this hard to believe.....I think it was just a crazy topi!!!! The vehicle was innocent. This topi was also ramming other members of the herd who came in his way.

It may have been brain-damaged from previous &quot;interactions&quot; with vehicles ;)

Very sad and bad timing for the poor guy. That article was vague enough to make me wonder if this happens more than we think. Although, you don't often see any what to do if an Oryx is looking at you sideways or with intent. A question perhaps for Preditor B.
Thanks for sharing!
Sherry

&quot;This is the reason why I was always less than lukewarm about the Crocodile Hunter. Undoubtedly a wonderful bloke with his heart in the right place but he set a poor example&quot;

John, not to speak poorly about one of your fellow Aussies, but I had serious reservations about Steve Irwin's judgement a couple of years back when he was filmed dangling son Bob in his left hand while dangling a chicken in his right hand feeding a lunging crocodile. One slip and it would have been a disaster! I couldn't see the point in bringing a one year old infant in the enclosure except for the publicity.

Couple years ago we had a &quot;bear expert&quot; who managed to get himself killed in Katmai (Alaska), something no one else had done the past 80 years in that park ... sadly his girlfriend was also killed (and eaten) as were two bears, shot by rangers when they recovered what was left of the bodies.

Couple of weeks ago they showed Shark Week on the telly here and one show was about divers in Mexico who dared to swim with great whites outside the steel cages ... the divers kept getting closer, and finally started grabbing the shark's dorsal fin and going for a ride like they were whale sharks or manta rays. One of these days we'll read about one of these chaps getting bitten and killed, is my guess.

Off the soapbox now ... I've gotten too close to grizzly bears enough times that I shouldn't talk ...

Bill