Celebrities are just like us when it comes to loving their pets, but some stars aren’t content with just cats and dogs.

Take Johnny Cash, for example. The country music legend, known as the Man in Black for his all-black wardrobe, had hit songs like “I Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire” along with 13 Grammys over his career. He worked with artists like Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, and his wife, June Carter Cash.

Johnny Cash was also a pet owner, but it went beyond your typical cats and dogs. In fact, he owned quite a few exotic animals on his estate, including one that almost killed him.

The Man in Black’s Exotic Sanctuary

Johnny Cash was known as a lover of the outdoors and nature, which may have been part of his motivation to bring in some unique animals as family pets over the years.

One of the most notable exotic animals was one he had with his first wife, Vivian. In the 1950s, Cash, Vivian, and their daughters were living in Encino, California, in a home the family bought from late-night host Johnny Carson. They also had a monkey living with them at the time as an early exotic pet for the family.

By the 1970s, Cash and his second wife, June, were living on a 175-acre estate on Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The estate he named the “House of Cash” included a museum, farm, and recording studio in addition to the “Cash Cabin” he built as a personal oasis.

Cash’s love for nature may be why he was inspired to bring some more unusual pets home to Hendersonville. He added several exotic animals to his House of Cash property, including buffalo, deer, black buck antelope, wild boars, and llamas. The animals lived in a compound that Cash built on the property, with 40 acres enclosed with fencing and barbed wire to give them a place to stay.

The Ostrich That Almost Killed Him

Not all of his pets held the country music legend in high regard. There was at least one ostrich who let him know about his disdain in a very dramatic fashion. In his 2003 autobiography, Cash recalleda run-in with an ostrichin 1981 that almost killed him. Yes, the Man in Black was close to beingfatally struck down by a big bird, and this was no “chicken in black.” 

The singer owned a pair of ostriches – a male and female – amid a particularly brutal winter for his animals in 1981. During a tough cold spell, the female ostrich refused to be taken to the barn and froze to death, which apparently upset her male companion.

While Cash was walking on his property one day, he encountered the male ostrich, who made it known he was upset about the turn of events and threatened the singer. Cash got away but grabbed a large stick to take back with him if he saw the ostrich again. On the way back, the ostrich once again threatened him, but this time, it took it a step further – or perhaps a talon further.

“He was in the air, and a split second later he was on his way down again, with that big toe of his, larger than my size-thirteen shoe, extended toward my stomach,” Cash recalled. “He made contact—I’m sure there was never any question he wouldn’t—and frankly, I got off lightly.”

While he suffered broken ribs and a gash to his stomach during the attack, it could’ve been worse, according to the singer.

“All he did was break my two lower ribs and rip my stomach open down to my belt,” Cash said. “If the belt hadn’t been good and strong, with a solid belt buckle, he’d have spilled my guts exactly the way he meant to.”

In his 2003 autobiography, the singer summed up the incident as, “Ostrich attacks are rare in Tennessee, it’s true, but this one really happened.”

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