Lethal donkey attacks have very rarely been described. The case of a 65-year-old man who was found deceased on a country road with 2 domestic donkeys nearby is, therefore, reported. Examination of the body revealed contusions and lacerations of the face and scalp, a comminuted fracture of the left maxilla, comminuted fracturing of the right radius and ulna and of the left anterior superior iliac spine, a flail chest, and pulmonary contusions. In addition, there were bite marks on the left thigh, right buttock, right axilla/upper arm, and left cheek which corresponded to the dental arcades of the donkeys. Death had resulted from blunt chest trauma due to an attack by 1 or 2 donkeys. Deaths and serious injuries are much more commonly caused by horses; however, this case shows that even domesticated donkeys may also rarely be capable of inflicting significant trauma and so should be approached with circumspection.
From the *For-Med Ltd, Tatabanya;
†Hungarian Institute of Forensic Sciences;
‡Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; and
§School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Manuscript received February 23, 2018; accepted March 17, 2018.
The authors have no conflict of interests and not received funding for this article.
Reprints: Roger W. Byard, MD, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Level 3 Medical School North Building, Frome Rd, Adelaide 5005, Australia. E-mail: roger.byard@sa.gov.au.
