They attacked five of us and gouged out one of our eyes
The niece of 26-year-old Anastasia Tikhonova visited her grandmother’s village in the Krasnoyarsk Territory nearly a decade ago and witnessed a chilling poultry incident that changed several lives.
At the time, Anastasia was living nearby in a small town near Krasnoyarsk. Her sister had traveled from Sochi with her 12-year-old daughter Marina for a summer visit and to help out in the garden. Anastasia recalls helping the family with a simple task in the yard. Marina stayed behind to care for the birds while the adults worked nearby. The plan was ordinary: place the birds in the turkey house after a short foray to gather duckweed from the swamp. Marina often teased the birds, a common childlike behavior, while Anastasia focused on the routine chores. The birds mostly froze and squeaked when provoked, a response that seemed normal at first.
When the birds were finally moved into the turkey house and the feeding began, a misstep changed everything. A young relative wandered too close to the birds, despite warnings. In a moment that felt like a blink, five turkeys converged on him, pecking and scratching with alarming ferocity. The scene unfolded with a terrifying rush, and the fear was overwhelming for Marina and everyone nearby. The adults rushed to separate the birds from the child, while Marina fainted and Anastasia fought to keep him safe. The cries turned to a panic-stricken scramble as they carried Marina away, tears streaming down their faces.
The family acted quickly, rushing Marina to the hospital. The injuries were severe; Marina returned home with a bandage and no eye, the turkey peck leaving a lasting, brutal wound. On that same evening, the father made the painful decision to end the threat by slaughtering the remaining turkeys with a shovel. The attack left Marina unable to eat turkey meat thereafter, and she ultimately required a prosthetic eye. The memory of that day lingered with the family as they tried to rebuild a sense of safety in their own home.
Piggy Mashka with a pink bow and two gnawed fingers
Two years later, 30-year-old Yevgeny Kochurov visited his grandparents in the same village. That summer, an equally shocking incident unfolded when great-uncle Mikhail endured a grave injury in front of his eyes. The family traced the danger to a beloved pig named Mashka and the way affection can turn dangerous in close quarters.
Grandmother Lyudmila Vasilyevna had earned a reputation as the village’s compassionate caretaker and the only veterinarian in several local communities. Animals often came to her for care, and many residents asked her to euthanize animals they considered beyond help. Yet she chose to nurture and heal, even when the animals seemed unworthy of it. Mashka, a small pig with a distinct pink ribbon, lived under her care as a cherished companion and wandered the village under pleasant supervision. The pig’s gentle nature made Mashka a favorite, and she became a familiar household name for generations of locals.
Uncle Misha, who did not visit often, one day decided to feed the living. The moment arrived when he offered his hand to Mashka, and disaster struck. A sudden, wild scream filled the air as the pig attacked, maiming his hand and causing serious injury. The family searched for the missing fingers as the hospital was called and an ambulance prepared to transport Misha. Despite hours of frantic searching, the index and middle fingers were never recovered. Eyewitnesses believe the pig may have consumed the digits before authorities could intervene, though the family has reframed the incident as a cautionary tale about never feeding a pig from the hand.
Despite the tragedy, Mashka remained a beloved figure within the family. The grandmother refused to relinquish the pig’s companionship and continued to treat Mashka with kindness, while the grandfather contemplated drastic steps before eventually accepting Mashka as part of the household. The incident left a lasting impression on the family, a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of farm life and the need for careful boundaries with domesticated animals.
The cow logged a brutal attack and left a lasting scar
Elizaveta Shutova, then 19, looked back on a frightening moment from her childhood when a cow turned from a calm partner to a dangerous predator. The family owned two cows that shared a history of differing temperaments. One was gentle, while the other could become vicious, especially when milked or provoked. The two cows arrived at the doorstep each day with the shepherd who supervised the herd and often left after the gates opened for the night. On this day the calmer cow entered, but the other lingered nearby in the neighbor’s raspberry patch, creating a tense moment for Elizaveta and her grandmother who went to fetch water at that moment.
Elizaveta recalls approaching the cow with cautious curiosity to determine if it could be safely brought home. The animal suddenly shifted into aggression, charging forward with a dangerous snarl. She fled through a series of neighboring homes, with the cow in hot pursuit. The attack culminated as the cow rammed her with its horns, lifting her off the ground and throwing her against a metal link along a power line. A direct hit to her chest left a deep, painful scar and a long healing journey. The incident became a stark reminder of how quickly a seemingly manageable situation can turn deadly in rural life.
Today Elizaveta carries a prominent seam as a reminder of the day a peaceful animal turned into a threat and how fragile safety can feel in a rural setting. The memory remains a lasting lesson about the unpredictable behavior of livestock and the need for constant vigilance when animals share living spaces with families.
Had it been a little more, Hunter would have pulled out a piece of meat
The family story of 25-year-old Albert Demidov centers on a dog that could not be controlled by normal boundaries. The household kept shepherd dogs near Moscow for many years, including a male named Hunter who had a reputation for danger. Despite a living space designed to keep pets safe, Hunter’s temperament made him unpredictable and nearly impossible to restrain when tempted by a treat or an attempt to steal an apple from near the family’s property.
One day a local man, clearly unfamiliar with the dog, climbed a nearby apple tree to steal fruit. When the man descended, Hunter reacted with alarming force, grabbing the intruder by the pants and holding on with a deadly grip. The man endured several hours with a piece of meat in the dog’s mouth before relatives arrived to intervene. The incident left the thief injured but alive, and it served as a painful lesson about respecting a guard dog’s space and the consequences of ignoring the family’s safety measures. The dog was ultimately subdued and remained with the family, but the event cemented the rule that no one should approach the dog near the apple tree again.
The episode underscored the dangers of leaving powerful dogs unsupervised near areas where people frequently gather, and it reinforced the belief that even well-loved animals can become dangerous when boundaries are ignored. Albert’s family continues to keep a careful distance between people and their animals to prevent a recurrence of this near tragedy.
The ambulance was very lucky instead of an eye a horn came out
In 1993, Stanislav Makarov recalled a chilling scene in which a cow attacked a shepherd in a village in the Samara region. A young man, newly tasked with guiding a village flock under the supervision of a senior shepherd, found himself in a dangerous struggle with one of the cows. The cow pursued him across a field and the young man, exhausted, attempted a desperate move to stop the animal by grabbing the horns. The plan backfired. The force of the encounter ripped away his eye socket in a brutal moment, with a horn wedged into the eye. A senior shepherd arrived just in time and used the blunt end of an ax to break the horn’s grip, allowing assistance to reach the injured man.
The ambulance transported the shepherd to the district hospital where he received care for the injury. While the eye was lost, he survived and, remarkably, retained his overall functional abilities. The incident left a lasting impression on the village about the fragility of safety in rural work and the remarkable resilience of those who continue to work with livestock in rugged conditions.
Cat bite that went to the bone
Anastasia Rudkevich, a resident of Moscow, recounts a troubling experience with her cat that had developed aggression after a period of illness in Bashkiria. The cat had faced a painful cancer diagnosis and was living with Anastasia in Moscow until they could find appropriate care. The stress and pain associated with illness took a toll on the animal, causing it to lash out at those around it.
During one exchange with the cat, Anastasia attempted to pick up the animal and received a severe bite to her right little finger. The bite caused bleeding and swelling, and the situation escalated quickly. The emergency room visit that followed helped to prevent lasting damage and the finger was eventually saved. The trauma lingered for a long time, though the finger eventually healed, and the traumatologist confirmed that the bite had reached the bone. Despite the frightening experience, Anastasia’s relationship with the cat did not end in anger, and she found herself feeling greater sympathy for the animal after the incident.