Spare the elk and hit the bear

Out of all the fish in the pond a sheepdog could have picked on his poaching spree in a carp pond, he apparently plumped for three koi carp, the most expensive of all. These exclusive Japanese fish were worth around 17,000 euros in total.

One Allianz customer had a remarkable experience as he was driving through the Serengeti Park in Hanover with his girlfriend and child, with the car windows down. As they paused to take a short break, a giraffe suddenly poked its head into the car. There was an apple in one of the footwells. The animal was just as terrified as the vehicle's occupants. It tried to pull its head out, but its horns got stuck on the edge of the door. It could only free itself from the car after moving backwards and forwards several times. The family called an end to their outing after that, but were shaken as a result. Allianz covered the costs for repairing the damaged door, which amounted to several thousand euros.

Accidents with deer, hares or foxes occur more often than they do with giraffes. Partial auto physical damage insurance covers all costs arising from accidents involving these animals. However, if you crash into a horse or a sheep while driving, you might not be covered. This is what a 30-year-old man discovered when a runaway kangaroo jumped in front of his car - not in Australia, but in Oberpfalz (the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria). The marsupial had escaped from a pet shop owner, who hadn't managed to catch him. The animal was on the run - and then bounced straight into the path of the car. The animal escaped, shaken but unharmed, but the car wasn't so lucky: the incident was a fender bender.

In Kenya, a stray camel recently ran out of a bush and into a Jeep owned by a German. The car's windscreen and body sustained significant damage in the accident. Unfortunately, the camel didn't survive the incident.

An accident in Norway involving an elk had a happier ending. A man was driving along a country road at around midnight, and didn't see the animal until it was almost too late. The driver reacted quickly and swerved to avoid the animal - and then hit a bear standing on the edge of the road a couple of meters further along. The driver braked sharply, and the bear escaped with only minor injuries.

Animals aren't always the victims in these stories: in a wood near Grodno in Belarus, a hunter had shot and wounded a fox, and decided to use the butt of the rifle to put the animal out of its misery. The animal struck out with its paw as a reflex - and managed to pull the gun's trigger. The bullet penetrated the hunter's thigh. The man had to be taken to hospital - but the fox managed to escape almost unharmed.

A court was called to settle the case of the sheepdog that had apparently eaten the three koi carp. Although the dog's owner was covered by a dog liability insurance policy, the insurer refused to pay out, because no fish heads, bones or remnants had been found. A court had to decide on this delicate matter. The fish dealer called as a witness then couldn't really remember much of the incident. The judge decided the whole thing was a fisherman's tale, and exempted the insurer from having to pay.