Thread: OMG! Kayaker Drowned by Swan

Wow. This is crazy stuff. I guess the Swan made him flip and he couldnt swim? I didnt think Ponds were that deep. Something is missing from this story.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/illi...acked-by-swan/

That is a terrible story. > Although, what was someone doing on a kayak without a life vest if he couldn't swim?

Sorry for not posting the link
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/illi...acked-by-swan/

[size=14pt]Holy Crap!!![/size]

I sure like to read your area stories - They are a lot more cheerful than this story which took place 10 minutes from where I live.
I used to have to deal with attacking swans where my daughter kept her horse. They are very protectful and can put a big hurt on you with their wings. They slap you with them and it is like getting hit with a broom stick.

No lifejacket and wearing boots, in a kayak....

Really sucks for the guys kids.....

The swans they are talking about are an invasive species, they are very agressive and destructive. Some states had an open season on them before the bunny-huggers got up in arms.

Something doesn't seem right. His job was to chase off Swans in a Kayak, but he doesn't know how to swim. Then the other photo of him looks to be take at a Beach resort.

17 HMR would help that Swan problem.

[quote author=PurpleNGold link=topic=942.msg8976#msg8976 date=1334607983]
Something doesn't seem right. His job was to chase off Swans in a Kayak, but he doesn't know how to swim. Then the other photo of him looks to be take at a Beach resort.

17 HMR would help that Swan problem.
[/quote]

The video said something about boots. Maybe that is what got him? Surely he could swim, judging by those pics. Maybe the boots plus the swan kept him from getting above water?

[size=12pt]The video said he was a good swimmer but had on boots and the swan kept attacking while was trying to get to shore. He was supposed to be taking care of the swans.
[/size]

Here is the MSNBC report.

"A 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."