Citation

Gudmannsson P, Berge J. J. Forensic Sci. 2019; 64(4): 976-981.

Affiliation

The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine, The Division for Forensic Medicine, Artillerigatan 12, 58758, Linköping, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13994

PMID

30629748

Abstract

Fatalities due to animal attacks are rare in forensic medical work but have been known to pose problems due to their potential to mimic homicide. This review summarizes reported cases of fatal attacks by large mammals that inhabit the Nordic wilderness, namely brown bear, moose, wild boar, and wolf, and attempts to elucidate injury patterns that can guide the forensic pathologist to identifying the species and modus operandi of the attacker. A tendency toward a species-specific injury pattern was observed. Injuries by bear and especially wolf are dominated by biting whereas moose and wild boar do not seem to bite their victims. The bear uses its paws, both for hitting, resulting in crush injury and fractures, and clawing with resulting excoriations and possible penetrating injuries. Crush injuries and fractures appear, on the other hand, to be minimal or absent in attacks by wolf and wild boar.

© 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

animal attack; brown bear; forensic pathology; forensic science; moose; traumatic death; wild boar; wolf