This list of uncommon deaths comprises odd or highly rare animal death conditions that have been identified as such by several sources.
The Goldsboro, North Carolina, performance monkey was discovered dead after he used a clothesline to build a makeshift noose and hang himself. It is thought that Jocko performed it as a test after witnessing hangings in public alongside his owner, Rockwell Syrock.
Date of Death: July 1880
A train struck the well-known elephant in St. Thomas, Ontario. Soon after, he passed away.
Date of Death: September 15, 1885
The elephant was strangled, electrocuted, then poisoned to death. The electrocution was filmed on camera for 74 seconds, which may have been the first documented death. More information on Topsy the elephant in Wikipedia.
Date of Death: January 4, 1903
The five-ton cow elephant was hanged by the neck from an industrial crane installed on a railroad the day after she killed a trainer for the Sparks World Famous Shows circus in Sullivan County, Tennessee. More information on the story of Mary the Elephant on this link https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/latest-news/forgotten-elephant-mary-endured-a-heartless-hanging/ by In Defense of Animals USA website and on Wikipedia.
Date of Death: September 13, 1916
The only fatality when the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed over the Tacoma Narrows in Washington was a cocker spaniel. When the first collapse started, Tubby's owner first fled from his vehicle and walked off the bridge, but he and other onlookers later tried to save the stranded dog. Just before the bridge eventually collapsed and the dog fell to his death, Tubby, terrified, bit the hand of one of his rescuers.
Tubby was the cocker spaniel who became the sole fatality of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse on November 7, 1940. While the bridge's owner, Leonard Coatsworth, was unable to remove Tubby from his car due to the bridge's tremendous motion, several people attempted the rescue but were unsuccessful. Tubby was never recovered, and his story is a sad emblem of the tragedy. For more story on Tubby, click on this article How a dog bite led to the only death during the infamous Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse by Fox.
Date of Death: November 7, 1940
Stuckie the Dog
In 1980, loggers from Georgia Kraft Co. found the posthumously named mummified dog buried in a chestnut oak about 28 feet (8.5 m) from the base. His body was protected by the tree's low moisture content, tannins, and circulating wind, which also prevented scavengers from smelling the stench of natural putrefaction. He is still on exhibit at Waycross, Georgia's Southern Forest World.
In the 1980s, loggers in Georgia found the well-known mummified dog Stuckie the dog under a hollow chestnut oak tree. A "chimney effect" and the tannic acid in the tree naturally preserved the hunting dog's body for decades after he became trapped and died inside the tree while presumably pursuing a raccoon. Currently on display, Stuckie is a well-liked roadside attraction at Southern Forest World in Waycross, Georgia. A public contest was held at Southern Forest World to name the mummified dog hence its name.
Date of Death: circa 1960s
Seagull
A bird was killed when Yankees right fielder Dave Winfield threw a warm-up ball during a Major League Baseball game between the Yankees and Blue Jays at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. Winfield was accused of causing "unnecessary suffering of an animal" by Toronto police following the game. The next day, the charges were withdrawn.
Before a game in Toronto on August 4, 1983, Dave Winfield killed a bird with a warm-up toss. He was charged with animal cruelty, but the charge was ultimately withdrawn the next day. Winfield was brought to a police station and then released on a $500 bond when supporters threw objects onto the field in response to the incident after he threw the ball.
The following day, the Metropolitan Toronto Police dropped the animal cruelty charge against Winfield.
Date of Death: August 4, 1983
Cocaine Bear
In 1985, an American black bear weighing 175 kg (386 lb) overdosed on cocaine and died in Georgia. The cocaine had been dropped from an aircraft flown by Andrew C. Thornton II, a convicted drug smuggler and former narcotics officer. The 2023 movie Cocaine Bear was influenced by it. To learn more about this bear which was overdosed by cocaine, click this link article There’s a true story behind ‘Cocaine Bear’—and it’s no laughing matter by National Geographic Magazine website and https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/arts/cocaine-bear-true-story.html by the New York Times.
Date of Death: 1985
Deer struck by a race car driven by Stefan Johansson during a practice for the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix
Stefan Johansson killed a roe deer instantly when he struck it with his McLaren MP4/3 during practice for the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix when the animal wandered onto the track. Johansson was traveling at nearly 140 mph (230 km/h). The automobile crashed into the railing after the accident ruined the front suspension and other components. Johansson lived. The driver was lucky to get away with just a headache and neck pain, but as a precaution, he was taken to the hospital for X-rays.
Safety concerns were raised by the occurrence, which brought attention to the racetrack's wildlife presence. The incident added to the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix's general chaos, which was so upsetting that Formula 1 did not visit Austria again for ten years. To learn more stories about this incident, click on the following link article, https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/remembering-stefan-johansson-s-deer-death-experience-664937/664937/ by Motorsport and https://talksport.com/motorsport/3331699/formula-1-austrian-grand-prix-mclaren-crash-red-bull/by talkSPORT
Date of Death: August 14, 1987
Olympic Doves at the cauldron of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics
Hundreds of live doves were released as a sign of global peace during the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Seoul, South Korea. Just before the Olympic cauldron was lighted, a large number of the doves landed on it. Upon lighting the cauldron, the Olympic flame killed more than a dozen of the doves who were perched on its rim and hovering just above it. Due to this incident, this became the last Olympic Games to use live doves during the ceremonies.
Date of Death: September 17, 1988
Male model Fabio was hit in the face by a goose during the first drop of the Apollo's Chariot rollercoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Fabio's nose was wounded and needed stitches, and the goose was killed. It was later found out that the rollercoaster ride was built on the path of migrating birds. Fabio relived that peculiar incident on this article https://people.com/fabio-looks-back-at-rollercoaster-goose-incident-25-years-ago-exclusive-8622713 by People.
Date of Death: March 30, 1999
A passing dove was killed instantly after being hit by a ball pitched by Randy Johnson
Pitcher Randy Johnson killed a bird in the middle of its flight with a fastball during a Major League Baseball spring training game.
On March 24, 2001, at Tucson Electric Park, Johnson pitched a fastball to Calvin Murray in the seventh inning of a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants, causing a bizarre accident that killed a dove. The event was not unique in baseball history, but it became one of Johnson's most memorable moments; a news report from 15 years later stated, "the event remains iconic, and the Big Unit says he gets asked about the incident nearly as much as he does about winning the World Series later that year with the Arizona Diamondbacks." The ball was declared dead, and it was declared "no pitch." More stories on this bizarre occurrence on the following articles, Bird 'explodes' after flying in path of fastball by ESPN and Remember that time Randy Johnson's fastball killed a dove during a baseball game? by USA Today
Date of Death: March 24, 2001
Alan the Dachshund
The "office dog" of Tatler magazine and a dachshund spotted a man walking toward the revolving doors of Vogue House and followed him. Alan's neck became trapped in the revolving doors as he attempted to hurry through them, trapping the worker inside as well. After two fire engines raced to the location and released the man, Alan was unable to be freed and passed away there. Learn more about the endearing but heartbreaking story and the tragic fate that befell the beloved Tatler's dog on the following articles: RIP Alan the dachshund: Tatler magazine's 'office dog' killed in grisly revolving door accident by Independent Tabloid Online Newspaper and https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/15/tatler-alan-dies-revolving-door by The Guardian Tabloid Online Newspaper
Date of Death: January 14, 2013
A hydraulic door in the San Francisco Zoo's enclosure unintentionally crushed the 15-month-old western lowland gorilla. The detailed story of the tragic accident that befell the adorable young gorilla on this link: https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/hydraulic-door-crushes-kills-kabibe-16-month-old-gorilla-at-san-francisco-zoo/
Cachou the Bear
On April 9, 2020, the 6-year-old brown bear was discovered dead in the Pyrenees. Several conservation organizations contested the necropsy's conclusion that Cachou was killed by another bear before being pushed off a cliff. The founder of the environmental group Ipcena speculated that someone had slaughtered a deer, stuffed it with honey and antifreeze, and then abandoned it in the bear's path after discovering antifreeze in its stomach. In relation to the murder, a forest ranger was taken into custody. To know more stories on the mysterious death of the hapless Cachou the bear on the following links: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-07-08/who-killed-cachou-the-bear-murder-mystery-in-spain-rattles-conservationists by Bloomberg, https://sentientmedia.org/who-killed-cachou-brown-bears-unusual-death-ignites-controversy/ by Sentient, https://www.3cat.cat/tv3/sales/who-killed-cachou/production/4850/ by 3Cat TV Channel, https://lakaseta.com/en/whokilledcachou-en/ a documentary by Televisió de Catalunya, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/17/mystery-deepens-search-killer-cachou-brown-bear/ by Telegraph News Online, https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/1628478.html by RTL News, and https://wilderness-society.org/hunter-kills-third-bear-in-pyrenees-this-year/ by European Wilderness Society.
Date of Death: April 2020, Found on April 9
Sources:
Canada's History - https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/arts-culture-society/jumbo-in-the-new-world
Coney Island History Project https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/blog/when-luna-park-killed-elephant-publicize-opening-day
In Defense of Animals - https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/latest-news/forgotten-elephant-mary-endured-a-heartless-hanging/
Santa Clarita Valley Television - https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/lw3649.htm
Yahoo! Sports - https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/murder-ballpark-tsn-revisits-dave-winfield-killing-toronto-212001169.html
