On March 10, 2022, a dromedary camel in a petting zoo in Obion County, Memphis, Tennessee, killed two people.
The deceased were two men, 42-year-old Bobby. Bobby Matheny and 67-year-old Tommy. Tommy Gunn.
According to zoologists, camels are best suited to live in dry areas. Even so, they prefer to drink clean drinking water, but there is only one small ditch in the local zoo to provide drinking water for the animals, and the road to the source is a muddy and narrow road.
Camels in inappropriate environments, or during mating seasons, may become irritable and angry, attack humans, and cause serious injuries.
According to witnesses, the attacker's camels forced the two victims into a corner, bit them over with their mouths, kicked them with their feet, and leaned down to kneel on them, crushing their ribs with their knees.
By the time the Obion County Sheriff arrived, the two men had fallen to the ground unconscious.
And when the crowd went to rescue the two men, the camels began to attack the police, and the police had to shoot and kill the camels.
After examination, it was found that the two people who were attacked died on the spot.
▍ Camels have the largest canine teeth of herbivores.
Of the herbivores domesticated by humans, perhaps the camel is the most violent and frightening.
An adult camel can weigh up to half a ton, equivalent to the weight of seven adults, not only has strong forelimbs and hindlimbs, but also has the largest canine teeth of a herbivore in its mouth, up to 5 centimeters long.
We usually think that only carnivores have canine teeth, which is actually an illusion that comes from the fact that humans' own canine teeth are highly degenerate and almost invisible. So we take it for granted that as long as we are not carnivores, the canine teeth will degenerate.
The origin of all mammals is the same in the whole world, including humans, and the origin of teeth in mammals is the same, all from fish scales.
Shark teeth can be replaced after damage, and can grow endlessly, and crocodile teeth can also be replaced more than a dozen times.
In short, animals that are closer to fish are more likely to grow out of teeth.
But mammalian teeth are fixed from birth. After humans grow up, the deciduous teeth are replaced by permanent teeth, which are actually already stored in the upper and lower jaws, and they cannot grow out after replacement.
So mammals need to have a few teeth that are particularly large and serve as some special function, which is the canine tooth.
Adult camels have 34 teeth, 8 front teeth, 4 canine teeth, and 22 anterior molars and molars.
Camels are ruminants, cattle are also ruminants, but of all ruminants, camel teeth are the most fearsome.
Because their 8 front teeth are also conical, the size of a dog's canine teeth.
This is because the food that camels eat is usually water-deficient, relatively hard, and requires front teeth and canine teeth to cut food. These front teeth and canine teeth are also advantageous tools for male camels to compete for mates.
Male camel fights are often very bloody, but rarely fatal, but because of the huge difference in the size of people and camels, camels can easily cause serious damage when they attack people.
▍ The camels went crazy and bit off the heads of the people.
Camels have canine teeth comparable to leopards, and have surpassed spotted hyenas.
As long as the camel bites the person's neck hard, 4 large canine teeth are inserted into the meat, and then with 8 conical front teeth, it is shaken twice, the person's neck is broken, and the head falls.
In May 2016, a camel killing occurred in the town of Palodi in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
Affected by high temperature weather, the local temperature is as high as 50 degrees. The owner of the camel chained the camel outdoors without any shade or water for the camel. What is even more excessive is that the owner of the camel goes to a friend's house to chat, and after half a day, he remembers that his camel is still outside.
When the owner of the camel wanted to untie the camel's reins and lead the camel to a shady place to drink water, the camel suddenly became angry and bit the owner's neck. Flicking left and right with force, he ripped off the master's head.
In 2012, when a man in Dalian was feeding a camel, he was bitten off the head by a camel and died on the spot. In 2020, two men in Dunhuang were bitten to death by wild camels.
There are 380,000 camels in the UAE, and 45% of the annual animal bites are done by camels.
The canine teeth of camels can easily penetrate the chest and abdominal walls of the human body, destroying internal organs or bones.
In 2017, a 26-year-old man in the UAE was bitten by a camel in the waist while feeding camels, resulting in intestinal perforation and a comminuted fracture of the lumbar spine, and was hospitalized for two months before being discharged.
The picture below is where the man was bitten.
▍ Herbivores hurt people more than carnivores.
In the African savannah, the most murderous people are giraffes.
Theoretically, the higher the IQ of the animal, the less harmful to humans, and in general, the IQ of carnivores is higher than that of herbivores.
Among the livestock raised by humans, the IQ of pigs and cattle is relatively high, so they rarely take the initiative to attack people.
On the contrary, the IQ of sheep is relatively low, and there are more active attacks on humans, but because the sheep are relatively small, many injuries are not taken seriously.
One of the most troublesome aspects of many herbivores attacking humans is that they usually look docile and harmless, but the injury suddenly occurs.
These low-IQ animals are particularly dangerous because their behavioral logic is difficult to grasp.
So don't think herbivores are harmless, especially those with low IQs.