The 81-year-old pensioner was killed in a deadly attack by an ostrich on his daughter’s exotic-animal farm — after making one crucial mistake he had been warned against.
In a truly devastating and bizarre animal death, an 81-year-old man was killed by a 28stone (400lbs) ostrich on his daughter’s exotic animal farm.
Fred W Parker from Winlock, Washington, USA, was killed by the aggressive bird and found dead inside the ostrich’s cage on the farm in Park Road. His daughter, Linda Carter, said she could not comprehend why her father went into the bird’s pen in the first place, as they usually fed the ostrich by throwing food over the fence.
The Chronicle reported Linda as saying: “We knew that he (the ostrich) was aggressive, but we never dreamed that he would take anyone’s life.”
The incident occurred on June 27, 1999, and Linda had shared at the time that she had ‘no intention’ of culling the ostrich because of her father’s death.
Fred’s daughter said: “I have no intention right now of destroying my ostrich because of my father’s death. The ostrich was protecting his domain. It’s just like any wild animal. You don’t go in a bear’s pen, you don’t go in an ostrich’s pen.”
The pensioner’s family shared that he had heart trouble, and in a cruel irony, Fred was afraid of ostriches.
The octogenarian was found dead by his daughter on a Sunday night inside a male ostrich called King Tut’s pen on Linda’s exotic-animal farm. Linda had reportedly been at a loss to explain why her father had decided to make the fatal decision.
Fred lived on his daughter’s farm in a recreational vehicle, and had been alone when he was feeding the deadly flightless bird. He had been left in charge of feeding the ostriches, emus, potbellied pigs and llamas that weekend, however, according to his daughter Linda, the task didn’t involve entering King Tut’s pen.
According to The Seattle Times, Linda explained: “He knew to throw the food over the fence.” Chief Criminal Deputy Joe Doench shared that the case has been referred to the Lewis County prosecutor.
Coroner Terry Wilson shed some light on the circumstances surrounding Fred’s death, sharing that the pensioner’s neck had been broken, and as per him, the 81-year-old’s bad heart probably contributed to his demise.
Coroner Terry suspected it wasn’t a peck that killed Fred, sharing: “It wasn’t a peck. This was footwork.” While Fred’s daughter Linda decisively said that she had no plans to kill the bird, Chief Criminal Deputy Joe explained that it was ostrich mating season, a period known for male ostriches becoming aggressive.
This wasn’t the first time King Tut had shown signs of aggression, as the previous year in 1998, the deadly bird had kicked Linda 10.5 feet.
Fred’s daughter shared she had been raising ostriches for over two years when the fatal incident occurred, and the world’s largest and heaviest bird had been extremely profitable for her, with ostrich meat selling for $9 a pound.
In July that same year, Lewis County Prosecutor Jeremy Randolph ruled that King Tut the ostrich would not face the death penalty and no action would be taken against the bird, or Fred’s daughter Linda.
This owed to the fact that Linda had already instructed her father that he could throw the ostrich’s food over the fence, which clearly meant that Fred hadn’t needed to enter the pen to feed King Tut and the two female ostriches.
According to The Spokesman-Review, Lewis County Prosecutor Jeremy said: “As far as we could see, what more could a person do?”
The prosecutor also said that the male bird had been aggressive due to it being ostrich mating season, and shared that King Tut was considered livestock and was thus protected as the bird was in its pen. The prosecutor added: “It was just doing what ostriches do at this time of year when there’s a man in their pen.”
Fred’s daughter Linda on the other hand, said she would be building a new and more secure pen for her ostriches, with railroad ties secured by a padlock. Linda aimed to have King Tut in the new pen by September that same year.
After it was decided that no action would be taken against the deadly bird, Linda said: “I’m very, very pleased. I’m glad I defended my bird. Losing my father is a very big loss, and I didn’t want to lose my bird, too.”
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