The truth is that we all love animals, and sometimes, when we adopt them we tend to treat them as we treat our own children, right? Of course, you actually have to do this when it comes to meeting their needs and providing them with everything they need to be healthy, such as good food, regular veterinary check ups, vaccines, grooming sessions, love and affection, but it’s important to set a boundary between you and them when it comes to showing affection or being too close to them.

One of the most important things that you have to take into consideration when it comes to your pet, whether it’s exotic or domestic, is that they are still animals and have primal, unpredictable behavior. You can’t treat them like humans, because they can’t control their feelings, behavior and reactions. In fact, when they feel threatened, they will usually attack to protect themselves, even though that’s not what you wanted to do. They aren’t rational beings that can think logically as humans do.

Bringing a new pet home is a huge responsibility. Not to mention that some exotic animals aren’t meant to be kept as pets, because they can be dangerous.

So, here are some terrifying stories of pets who killed their owners. Read on to find out more info!

Cassowary

Cassowary can be found in New Guinea, East Nusa Tenggara, the Maluku Islands, and northeastern Australia. According to animal experts, cassowaries are considered the most dangerous birds in the world. These birds are not only as tall as a person, but they have actually powerful legs and claws that can kill you instantly.

However, even though they are exotic animals that can be really dangerous, there are many people who adopt them as pets. For example, a 75 year old man from Florida was attacked by a cassowary in 2019. He had several birds that he kept as pets. When he accidentally fell to the ground, the bird attacked him. It’s important to mention that this kind of bird can run up to 50 km/h (31 mph) and jump 2.1 meters (7 ft.) into the air.

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Wapiti (a hybrid of a red deer and elk)

Back in 2019 on an Australian farm owned by Paul McDonald’s family, things took a not-so-happy turn when it comes to animals. This family was known to have a wapiti as a pet for years, but it turned out that this animal killed Paul during the mating season when it was more aggressive than usual.

According to animal experts, wapitis become aggressive during their mating season even though they are more socialized than other animals, as their hormones change as well in this period which means that the level of testosterone is increasing at the same time. When Paul went to feed the animal, the wapiti attacked him, as well as his wife when she tried to save Paul. Police arrived in the meantime and shot the animal, Paul’s wife survived after several operations, but he sadly died.

Animal experts don’t recommend adopting such an animal, but if you still want to do this, they suggest castration and social isolation during mating season.

In addition, here are 9 Animals That Kill Their Prey in Strange Ways.

Hippo

If you have ever considered adopting a hippopotamus, you should think twice before making this decision. That being said, let’s consider the case of a South African man, Marius Els, and his pet Humphrey, a hippo that killed him in 2011.

Before his death, Marius Els was famous on the internet for his videos with Humphrey, as he tried to show the world that he had a strong connection with his pet until Humphrey changed his mind and killed him. Six years after his adoption, the hippopotamus attacked Els and bit him to death.

Well, according to officials, Humphrey had previously attacked several cows. Statistics show that hippos kill more people every year than any other dangerous animals do, such as leopards, elephants, lions and so on.

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Southern pig-tailed macaque

The southern pig-tailed macaque is a medium sized macaque that can be found in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Being somewhat similar to humans, they are usually not considered dangerous, but there is always an exception to this rule which proves otherwise, right?

A 72 year old man and his son owned a southern pig-tailed macaque, but when they tried to climb a tree to get some fruit, they were attacked by their exotic pet. Unfortunately, the old man died immediately, while his son was injured in the neck area.

Here are the 5 Most Dangerous Spiders in the World.

Black bear

We have to admit that the internet is full of videos of people training bears or taking pictures of them when they go to the mountains and this is one of the biggest mistakes that anyone can make because they are literally risking their lives.

Kelly Ann and Michael Walz of Pennsylvania owned a black bear named Teddy as a pet. Although Teddy is a cute name for a nice bear, it seems that this bear’s behavior wasn’t so friendly because he killed one of his owners. Michael was known for his pet dealer license and kept other exotic pets on their property, such as a tiger, a jaguar, a leopard and a lion, but the black bear killed his wife.

His wife, Ann, was cleaning the bear’s cage when it attacked her. In addition, she helped socialize the bear for nine years, since it was just a cub.

Here are 11 Bizarre Animals You Didn’t Know Existed and 6 Cat Breeds That Love Water.

Camel

Did you know that camels can actually kill people? When Pam Weaver, a woman who had previously raised kangaroos, goats, emus and other similar animals, turned 60 in 2007, she received a camel for her birthday present from her husband. However, even if it may sound strange to you and me, in Australia it’s perfectly normal to see them in people’s households.

The camel was just ten months old when it knocked Pam to the ground and straddled her body until it killed her… before this event, the camel did the same with one of the goats in the household. Animal experts say that these animals tend to become aggressive during their mating season, so this is probably why the camel attacked Pam.

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