Swan Kills Man: Has a swan ever killed a human?

A swan attack in 2012 toppled a Des Plaines man’s kayak, sending him plunging into a retention pond. As the man attempted to swim to shore, the aggressive swan, which had been nesting, continued to lunge at him. He never made it out alive.

Anthony Hensley, a 37-year-old Villa Park father of two daughters, drowned on April 14, 2012, at the Bay Colony condominium complex near Golf Road in unincorporated Maine Township.

Anthony Hensley did nothing to provoke the swans before the attack, according to reports. His family was devastated, and residents of the condominium complex were left without a regular in the community as a result of the strange event.

Hensley was a frequent visitor to the complex, where he was in charge of the mute swans brought in to control the geese. He frequently brought his kayak and, on occasion, his dog to feed and care for the birds.