Remarkable Animals That Saved People’s Lives
Many people owe their lives to the tender protection and brave acts of other animals. Here’s just a small look at the stories of eight remarkable animals that have saved people’s lives.
Goat feeds farmer milk, keeps him warm for five days
While doing his daily farm work, Farmer Noel Osborne was accidentally knocked into a pile of manure, shattering his hip. He was rendered immobile and stranded too far away for anyone to hear his calls for help. For five days, his goat Mandy huddled by his side keeping him warm, even throughout stormy, cold nights. Perhaps more remarkably, Mandy allowed Osborne to milk her for sustenance.
Beluga whale saves drowning diver
Diver Yang Yun was part of a competition to hold her breath for as long as possible in a pool of beluga whales in China. The dive was running smoothly until she tried to move her legs and they wouldn’t move. That’s when Mila, one of the beluga whales, came to her rescue. Sensing something was wrong, the whale immediately swam to the drowning diver, took Yun’s leg in her mouth and lifted her to the surface to breathe, saving her life.
92 stranded sailors saved by a dog named Tang
In 1919, a ship called Ethie crashed into rocks stranding 93 sailors amidst stormy seas. After one of the sailors was swept out to sea, the crew turned to Tang. With the rope in his mouth, the dog leaped into the water. When he reached land, onlookers were amazed to discover that his jaw was still fastened to the rope. All 92 of the remaining sailors were pulled to safety due to Tang’s ceaseless bravery.
Horse protects owner from a raging cow
Rancher Fiona Boyd was leading a stray calf into a shed when the calf’s enraged mother suddenly charged her, knocked her down and proceeded to stampede over her. “I was absolutely terrified, and remember rolling up into a ball to protect my head from her hooves,” she recalled. That’s when Kerry, who was grazing nearby, immediately leaped to assist her. The horse bucked and kicked at the cow until it moved away, certainly saving Boyd from being trampled to death.
Gorilla protects boy who falls in zoo enclosure
Here’s the remarkable story of Jambo, a silverback gorilla at the Jersey Zoo. After a young boy, Levan, fell into the gorilla’s zoo enclosure, fracturing his skull and breaking limbs, Jambo immediately came to his aid. The silverback stood firmly next to the young boy and even stroked his back in comfort, protecting the boy from danger. When Levan woke up and began to cry, Jambo lead his entire troop away so human rescuers could reach the boy.
Elephant saves a girl from 2004 tsunami
Amber Mason, an 8-year-old girl, was saved by a 4-year-old elephant during the 2004 Thai tsunami. Just as the wave struck, the elephant took Amber on its back and ran for higher ground. As the wave crashed around them, the elephant even turned its back to the water, creating a protective wall from the impact. “If she had been on the beach on her own or with us on the beach, she would never have lived,” Amber’s mother recalled. “The elephant took the pounding of the wave.”
Dolphin saves surfer from shark attack
Surfer David Rastovich describes how a dolphin saved him from a shark attack. “I was sitting in the water, when all of a sudden I saw a dolphin next to me that was behaving unusually hectic. From the top I saw how the dolphin came flying and hit a shark hard in the side. I myself hadn’t even seen the shark before,” he recalled.
Goat feeds farmer milk, keeps him warm for five days
While doing his daily farm work, Farmer Noel Osborne was accidentally knocked into a pile of manure, shattering his hip. He was rendered immobile and stranded too far away for anyone to hear his calls for help. For five days, his goat Mandy huddled by his side keeping him warm, even throughout stormy, cold nights. Perhaps more remarkably, Mandy allowed Osborne to milk her for sustenance.
Beluga whale saves drowning diver
Diver Yang Yun was part of a competition to hold her breath for as long as possible in a pool of beluga whales in China. The dive was running smoothly until she tried to move her legs and they wouldn’t move. That’s when Mila, one of the beluga whales, came to her rescue. Sensing something was wrong, the whale immediately swam to the drowning diver, took Yun’s leg in her mouth and lifted her to the surface to breathe, saving her life.
92 stranded sailors saved by a dog named Tang
In 1919, a ship called Ethie crashed into rocks stranding 93 sailors amidst stormy seas. After one of the sailors was swept out to sea, the crew turned to Tang. With the rope in his mouth, the dog leaped into the water. When he reached land, onlookers were amazed to discover that his jaw was still fastened to the rope. All 92 of the remaining sailors were pulled to safety due to Tang’s ceaseless bravery.
Horse protects owner from a raging cow
Rancher Fiona Boyd was leading a stray calf into a shed when the calf’s enraged mother suddenly charged her, knocked her down and proceeded to stampede over her. “I was absolutely terrified, and remember rolling up into a ball to protect my head from her hooves,” she recalled. That’s when Kerry, who was grazing nearby, immediately leaped to assist her. The horse bucked and kicked at the cow until it moved away, certainly saving Boyd from being trampled to death.
Gorilla protects boy who falls in zoo enclosure
Here’s the remarkable story of Jambo, a silverback gorilla at the Jersey Zoo. After a young boy, Levan, fell into the gorilla’s zoo enclosure, fracturing his skull and breaking limbs, Jambo immediately came to his aid. The silverback stood firmly next to the young boy and even stroked his back in comfort, protecting the boy from danger. When Levan woke up and began to cry, Jambo lead his entire troop away so human rescuers could reach the boy.
Elephant saves a girl from 2004 tsunami
Amber Mason, an 8-year-old girl, was saved by a 4-year-old elephant during the 2004 Thai tsunami. Just as the wave struck, the elephant took Amber on its back and ran for higher ground. As the wave crashed around them, the elephant even turned its back to the water, creating a protective wall from the impact. “If she had been on the beach on her own or with us on the beach, she would never have lived,” Amber’s mother recalled. “The elephant took the pounding of the wave.”
Dolphin saves surfer from shark attack
Surfer David Rastovich describes how a dolphin saved him from a shark attack. “I was sitting in the water, when all of a sudden I saw a dolphin next to me that was behaving unusually hectic. From the top I saw how the dolphin came flying and hit a shark hard in the side. I myself hadn’t even seen the shark before,” he recalled.
