Jason Murdock is a staff reporter for Newsweek.
Murdock previously covered cybersecurity for the International Business Times UK and B2B tech for V3.co.uk
Winner of The Drum's 'Digital Writer of the Year' award in 2017. Contact: j.murdock@newsweek.com
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or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
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A 50-year-old man was killed in an attack by a female pig in Italy last weekend that also left a 2-year-old hospitalized
The tragic incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time Sunday on a farm in Corcolle, a province on the outskirts of Rome. When the pair entered the animal's enclosure to look at newborn piglets, it responded by knocking the man to the ground and fatally biting him, La Repubblica reported
but relatives intervened after hearing the child in distress
The young victim was rushed to a hospital in Tivoli in serious condition before being transferred to the Bambino Gesù Hospital by ambulance
The child was "breathing with a ventilator, sedated and in critical condition," a spokesperson for the hospital told the ANSA newswire
The hospital told La Repubblica the toddler had surgery after suffering "multiple traumatic lesions
An autopsy was ordered for the 50-year-old man
the exact cause of death remains undetermined
According to an article published in the wake of the incident by the Italian edition of National Geographic
pigs become "particularly unpredictable in behavior" around mating seasons
Irene Camerlink, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna who studies the social quirks of pigs, wrote in an article last year that "disastrous situations can occur when the aggression is directed towards humans."
Sows not confined to farrowing crates can "more easily attack to defend their piglets," and some will attempt to bite through bars or jump out of their pens if they face stress
It remains unclear what type of conditions the pigs in Corcolle were living in
Earlier this year, a 56-year-old woman in Russia reportedly died after collapsing while feeding her pigs. The animals started to take bites out of her body while she was still alive
The incident took place on a farm in Udmurtia
The victim's remains were reportedly discovered by her husband in February
An investigation was then launched by local law enforcement
And back in 2012, the Associated Press reported authorities in Oregon were probing the death of a 69-year-old farmer who was believed to have been eaten by his own pigs
but a relative said pieces of the man's body were found in the enclosure
but it's so doggone weird that we have to look at all possibilities," Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier said at the time
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