Widow Sues Over Husband's Death Following Swan Attack

You would never dream a creature as graceful as a swan could be so dangerous, but YouTube videos show just how vicious the beautiful animals can be.

Now, a widow is claiming her husband died as the result of a swan attack.

The tragic case centers on a flock of swans that are kept on a lake at an apartment complex outside Chicago. The birds are there to scare away geese, which leave droppings everywhere. Swans and geese are natural enemies.

Anthony Hensley was employed to care for the Chicago swans. His family says he was in a kayak checking a swans nest when the birds attacked him and he tumbled into the lake.

His father told INSIDE EDITION, "He almost made it to shore, but they kept attacking him."

Thirty-seven-year-old Hensley drowned, leaving a wife and two young daughters.

Now, his widow says in a lawsuit that the condo and its management company should have known the swans were "unreasonably dangerous."

"Swans are extremely aggressive and attack by smashing at their victims with bony spurs in the wings, accompanied by biting with their bill," she said.

The breed that attacked him are known as “mute swans."  

Bird expert Laurie Hess told INSIDE EDITION, "Mute swans are known to be more aggressive than other swans. So, perhaps he was just protecting his territory."

A tragic warning not to get too close to these beautiful birds, which can be deceptively aggressive.

It's not just swans here in the United States. One university in England just erected fences around a lake on campus because a swan there was viciously attacking students without provocation.