Can a swan break a man's leg?...

[oldwheels]

We once had a swan that had lost it’s mate and it took to coming up the Main Street and people fed it unsuitable food. It got very bold and ambushed anyone coming out of the local coop expecting to get fed . It was regarded as bit of a town pet but eventually the RSSPCA came and removed it to a suitable refuge as it was generally getting in its dotage and getting to be a danger to itself and everybody else.

 

[Stephenite]

Forget swans, the cassowary is thought to be the world's most dangerous bird.......although we don't get many of them in Oxford. Apparently they nut you before disembowelling you with their claws.

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I came across one of these in an Aussie forest a while back. It was a very narrow trail and I turned my backpack around so it was on my chest and reversed - for about a mile and a half before there was an opening!

 

[roley poley]

the spurs on a cockrell 🔪🗡!!

 

[Edwardoka]

Forget swans, the cassowary is thought to be the world's most dangerous bird.......although we don't get many of them in Oxford. Apparently they nut you before disembowelling you with their claws.

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I love cassowaries. While they're not genetically closer to dinosaurs than most other birds, they're certainly closest in badassery.
A Florida man (it's always a Florida man) thought that owning one was a good idea right up until the point where it easily killed him.

 

[Drago]

had an experience of a swan attack when canoeing probably too close to its cygnets by accident I was glad of the paddles in my hands it was more pecky and very flappy..the hollow bones of a bird against a person's shin?? I know where my money would be

They've muscles in those wings strong enough to haul a bird the weight of a fair sized dog into the air, so while the bones are light the musculature is significant. That said, I wonder if stories of broken arms originate with people falling and breaking bones in their haste to escape rather than directly as a result of the birds twatting them.

 

[Dave7]

I posted this photo a couple of weeks ago. As I was on my ride this was walking down the lane towards me. It seemed to be happy enough but as I stopped to take the photo it gave me a certain look and I realised just how big it actually was.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I posted this photo a couple of weeks ago. As I was on my ride this was walking down the lane towards me. It seemed to be happy enough but as I stopped to take the photo it gave me a certain look and I realised just how big it actually was.
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You could repost that picture weekly for the rest of the year and I wouldn't mind, it's fabulous!

 

[Globalti]

People walking dogs in the Brennand valley near Dunsop Bridge have been attacked by eagle owls, which swoop silently and claw their scalps. You can imagine the infection that must cause.

Gamekeepers have killed the eagle owls.

 

[PeteXXX]

I was on a friends houseboat once when a swan struggled past us. Turned out it's nearside leg was tangled up in fishing line. We deduced that by the fact it was pulling a float in it's wake.
We managed to wrap a coat around it and get it aboard. As we were untangling the line we noticed a hook embedded in it's leg so my mate got some pliers while I cuddled it. Once the line and hook was removed we let it loose.
Not sure if it realised we were trying to help but it didn't say thank you as it sailed serenely away... 🦆

 

[Edwardoka]

I was on a friends houseboat once when a swan struggled past us. Turned out it's nearside leg was tangled up in fishing line. We deduced that by the fact it was pulling a float in it's wake.
We managed to wrap a coat around it and get it aboard. As we were untangling the line we noticed a hook embedded in it's leg so my mate got some pliers while I cuddled it. Once the line and hook was removed we let it loose.
Not sure if it realised we were trying to help but it didn't say thank you as it sailed serenely away... 🦆

It's pretty rare for non-domesticated animals to realise when they're being helped.
I suspect thousands of years of interaction where humans have been an apex predator have given them a pretty good adaptive memory of what we're capable of...