Fatal Attractions

A man who lived with seven large Nile monitor lizards and a woman who kept several species of venomous snakes have fatal run-ins with their pets. Their fascination with a potentially deadly hobby ultimately led to their demise.

People who keep dangerous big cats such as tigers, lions and leopards as pets learn how small mistakes can have devastating consequences. A misinterpreted mood or an open cage door can lead to disaster.

Chimpanzees, our closet animal relative, possess six times the strength of an average adult male and have the temperament of a five-year-old child. Despite their strength and their wild tendencies, some people believe chimps make loving companions.

In 2003, a 500-pound tiger was removed from a New York apartment in the projects of Harlem. A veteran's tigers helps him cope with his PTSD, but another tragic story reminds us that these predators can never be completely tamed.

A California woman's passion for nature morphs into an obsession with deadly venomous snakes. She and others like her often ignore serious warnings about the danger of their desires, sometimes with tragic results.

Donna Munson enjoyed feeding the bears that congregated around her home in the woodlands of Ouray, Colorado. Her life ended tragically when she tried to intervene in a conflict between an adult male and a cub.

A Cincinnati man shows off his 13-foot python to his girlfriend, but is strangled in the process. A deadly rhinoceros viper bites its owner, and a man who milks snakes to produce antivenom suffers a horrific workplace accident.

Farmers in Pennsylvania and Florida have dangerous run-ins with powerful and aggressive bulls they had raised since they were calves. A Texas rancher has gone a step further and has given a huge buffalo its own room in the house.

A tiger loose in the streets of suburban New Jersey tips off locals to a larger and potentially deadly problem. Meanwhile, a man's insistence on keeping tigers costs one person their life.

A Wisconsin school teacher follows his dream of owning a 2-ton Asian elephant but isn't prepared for the inevitable. A former circus performer wants his young daughters to follow in his footsteps as a tiger trainer.

Three men tempt fate when they bring animals into their lives and homes. A pet whitetail buck poses a deadly threat during rutting season, and inexperience gets the best of a man and his newly acquired bull.

Two families are torn apart by the consequences of keeping big cats close at hand, as they make the mistake of assuming that the animals are domesticated and could never pose any threat to them.

Two Australians share their lives with dangerous crocodiles. One man keeps two saltwater crocs in his shed, while a woman keeps three crocs as pets, taking one of them for drives in her car and letting another live in the bath.