Kayaker Dies After Tussle With Angry Swan

A Chicago-area man who took care of swans was killed after apparently angering one of them, the Sun-Times reports. The company that Anthony Hensley, 37, worked for uses swans and dogs as goose deterrents around properties, and the dad of two went to check on a group of swans near one condo complex on Saturday morning. He may have kayaked too close to a swan or its nesting area, and the swan swam at him, causing him to fall into the water.

Witnesses say Hensley tried to swim to shore, but the swan kept coming after him; his autopsy determined drowning was the cause of death, and family and friends are struggling to understand what happened. "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," says his father-in-law. (More strange stuff stories.)