#7 - Cliff Des
In the early summer of 2022, Cliff Des was at his home in Heathcote, a town in Central Victoria,
Australia, when he heard his dogs barking ferociously outside. The 59-year-old man,
a former boxing trainer, went to investigate the commotion, only to find that his dogs were being
accosted by a 6-foot-tall kangaroo. As Des later detailed during an interview with the Today Show
Australia, he initially attempted to ward off the large animal from afar. Emboldened by the
man’s hostility, the kangaroo proceeded to stand up on its back legs and chase after him. Des then
recalled fleeing back to his yard before losing his footing and falling to the ground, at which
point the animal reportedly pounced on his back and began attacking him. The ensuing altercation,
much of which was captured on surveillance video that ultimately went viral, began with
Des grabbing a nearby stick, which he used to hit the kangaroo 3 times. The man described how, after
the trio of strikes, the branch “snapped like a carrot”, and he was subsequently taken to the
ground by the animal. The two were then engaged in a wrestling match that lasted several minutes,
during which the top of Des’ head was gouged, his finger was bitten, and his leg was gored by
the animal’s claw. He eventually managed to escape from the kangaroo’s grasp and
flee back to his house. The pugnacious marsupial nonchalantly hopped away, uninjured by the brawl.
#6 - Milo Sutcliffe
While Texas man Milo Sutcliffe was helping his wife, Jennifer, do some yard work at their Corpus
Christi residence in May of 2018, he was bitten by the severed head of a rattlesnake. According
to subsequent reports on the matter, the man had, upon taking notice of the poisonous animal,
immediately struck it with a shovel, detaching its head from the rest of its body. Believing the
snake to have been killed by the decapitation, Sutcliffe reached down to pick it up, at which
point it reportedly latched its fangs into his fingers. Rattlesnake venom takes effect almost
instantly, so Jennifer swiftly brought her husband to a nearby hospital. There, doctors
put him into a medically-induced coma in which he remained for the next 5 days. Sutcliffe’s kidneys
reportedly failed because of shock, and he was thus put on dialysis and given various
antibiotics during his extended hospital stay. The seemingly fantastical nature of the story
caused it to go viral online, but scientists were quick to clarify that it wasn’t an isolated
incident. Dr. Keith Boesen, the director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center,
detailed how snakes have a natural reflex mechanism similar to that of chickens,
which are able to run around even after their heads have been removed.
According to Dr. Boesen, diminished brain capacity precludes a beheaded snake from controlling
how much venom it injects, so the creature will instinctively distribute as much as it can.
#5 - Walter Hickox
On January the 19th of 2022, Florida man Walter Hickox was captured by his doorbell
security camera fighting off a black bear that had tried to enter his Daytona Beach residence.
The footage, which subsequently went viral online, showed the man standing on his screened-in porch
with his dogs when the bear suddenly came crashing through the doorway. Hickox swiftly sprung into
action, punching the giant animal and pulling a bench in front of it to block its path. During
the brief but chaotic altercation, Hickox was struck by the bear as well, reportedly sustaining
minor injuries in the process. The man yelled at the hulking creature to leave as his dogs
barked at it fiercely, and, eventually, the animal did retreat. According to a press release by the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, bear biologists were working in conjunction with
law enforcement officers in an effort to capture the bear. Per the Commission’s policy, the animal,
if captured, would be put down humanely because it poses a threat to human safety.
#4 - Travis Kauffman
On February the 4th of 2019, runner Travis Kauffman was running in the mountains of
Fort Collins, Colorado when he was attacked by a mountain lion.
During a press conference held by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency,
31-year-old Kauffman detailed how he’d been running down a trail at the Horsetooth Mountain
Park at the time of the incident. He’d initially been alarmed by the sound of pine needles
rustling behind him before he eventually realized that he was being stalked by the wild lion,
which proceeded to charge him. It then locked its jaws around Kauffman’s wrists and began clawing at
his face and arms. The man, who claimed to have been fueled by a sudden burst of adrenaline,
eventually wrestled the big cat to the ground, hit its head with a rock, and fruitlessly
attempted to stab its neck with sticks. Their fight continued for nearly 10 minutes,
during which time they rolled down onto the south end of the trail. Finally, Kauffman was reportedly
able to pin the mountain lion’s legs back and lodge his foot into its neck, restricting its
breathing until it ultimately suffocated to death. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated
for numerous injuries, including lacerations to his nose and cheek that needed about 20 stitches.
#3 - James Collins
An elderly Maine resident was working in the backyard of his Woolwich residence
with a motorized trimmer when he was suddenly attacked by a pair of wild foxes
on August the 6th of 2020. The man, identified as 79-year-old James Collins, detailed how he was
ambushed by the animals, one of which grabbed his boots and attempted to drag him away.
He used the weed whacker to strike the fox several times until it eventually let go of him and fled.
Upon getting back to his feet, Collins noticed the second fox charging towards him from about
100 yards away. When it reached him, the man used a cane that was positioned nearby to fend it off
until it, too, ran away. The animals ultimately fled towards a brook beyond Collins’ backyard,
where he believed their den was located. Having been bitten several times on his arms and legs,
Collins went to the hospital, where he received medical treatment. The man later
indicated that he didn’t think the foxes were rabid because they “had coordination”. However,
doctors chose to err on the side of caution by treating him for rabies anyway,
as “it’s impossible to confirm whether an animal is infected with the disease while it’s still
alive”. The year prior to Collins’ encounter with the aggressive foxes, 18 residents of the
neighboring city of Bath had been attacked by rabid foxes following a rabies outbreak.
#2 - Reid Roberts
Canadian man Reid Roberts and his dog, Pacer, were running at a provincial park
near the University of Northern British Columbia when they came upon a mother
black bear and its cubs. According to the CBC, 46-year-old Roberts, a Prince George resident,
had accidentally approached the wild animal, which was protecting its 2 cubs in the bushes at the
side of the running trail. The bear emerged from the brush and immediately went “into attack mode”,
charging Roberts and knocking him to the ground. In a Facebook post describing the incident,
the man recalled lying on his back and trying to kick the animal off of him. At some point,
Roberts’ dog was able to momentarily distract the bear by biting and barking at it, affording the
man enough time to scramble behind some nearby bushes. The bear then charged him for a second
time, but Pacer once again managed to divert its attention, and eventually led it down the trail,
away from a badly bleeding Roberts. The latter subsequently climbed a tree and dialed 9-1-1
before “staggering” back to the parking lot. He was taken to the hospital, where he was
treated for a myriad of “mostly superficial” injuries, including claw scratches, bruises,
and a punctured hand that required 16 stitches to mend. Pacer fortunately came away from the
altercation with the bear uninjured. Later that same day, the dog showed up at Roberts’ friend’s
house roughly a mile away from where they’d been trail running. It was reported that the mother
bear had been euthanized, while its cubs were transported to a wildlife shelter in Smithers.
#1 - Greig Tonkins
Australian zookeeper Greig Tonkins made international headlines in December of 2016
when he was captured punching a kangaroo in the face in an attempt to save his dog. The viral
video clip was met with intense controversy, with many animal activists labeling the 36-year-old
a “thug” for what they considered to be an abusive attack on a vulnerable creature. Others praised
Tonkins for his willingness to risk his own safety to protect his pet dog. In the video, Tonkins was
shown standing toe-to-toe with the marsupial for several seconds after it released the dog
from a vicious headlock. The man then landed a single blow directly to the animal’s face,
sending it scurrying away into the nearby bushes. After the footage had been disseminated online,
Tonkins’ actions were condemned by the animal rights organization PETA, which called the
infamous punch “neither funny nor brave”, claiming it was actually “illegal”. There were even calls
for Tonkins to lose his job as the elephant keeper at Taronga Western Plains Zoo as a consequence for
the incident. Tonkins, a sitting member of the Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association,
publicly defended his actions. In 2019, he posted a picture of himself laying in the grass alongside
3 kangaroos, attempting to convey his fondness for the species, in stark contrast to the widespread
media depiction of him as a heartless animal abuser. At the time of the Tonkins’ altercation
with the kangaroo, he and a group of friends had reportedly been taking part in a hunting trip at
a rural property in Condobolin, New South Wales. The trip had been organized for a 19-year-old
member of the group who was dying of cancer and ultimately passed away a few months later.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather fight 10 aggressive lap dogs at once or get paper
cuts all over your hands that never go away? Let us know in the comments section below!