From the house pets that look after their owners to the wild creatures willing to lend
a helping hand, today we look at Amazing Animals That Saved Human Lives.
Number 13.
Rabbit Emergency In 2004, Simon Stegall experienced a diabetic
reaction that left him incapable of moving or asking for help.
His wife Victoria had thought he was fast asleep as the television continued to play
on.
Luckily, he had snuggled up to his rabbit Dory, who apparently sensed something was
off.
Dory quickly began hopping and wriggling on Stegall's chest which caught the eye of Victoria.
Realizing she couldn't arouse her husband, she swiftly called for medical assistance,
all thanks to Dory's alert.
Number 12.
Alarm Cat Gas leaks can be a silent assailant, catching
residents by lethal surprise as poisonous gases like carbon monoxide fill the building.
One night in 2007, the Keesling family experienced this nightmare firsthand in the worst scenario
possible — every family member had already gone to bed.
With no one to wake them, the family wouldn't last through the night as carbon monoxide
replaced the home's oxygen.
Fortunately, the family cat, Winnie, was up and aware of the foreign substance that seemed
to fill the air.
Winnie raced upstairs and quickly began pawing at its owner Kathy.
By the time the cat successfully woke Kathy, her husband and son were already rendered
totally unconscious by the gas.
She somehow summoned the strength to get to her feet and dial for emergency assistance.
Had she woken any later, or not at all, Kathy Keesling and her family would have definitely
met a fatal end.
Number 11.
Beluga Buoy Working at an aquarium seems like it would
be a fairly fun job.
Afterall, who wouldn't want to spend their workday swimming with dolphins and whales!
Earning the part is no easy task, though, especially when your tryout diving experience
goes awry.
When Yang Yun applied for a whale training job at China's Polar Land Aquarium, she experienced
the unfortunate displeasure of a cramp in her leg and was suddenly unable to swim.
As she floundered in the freezing waters, Yun felt the jaws of Mila, one of the tank's
beluga whales.
Mila wasn't looking for a snack, but rather trying to get a firm grip on Yun's leg as
it ascended.
The aquatic mammal lifted the diver from the depths to the safety of the surface, saving
her life.
Number 10.
Three Lion Guardians Few animals qualify for the title of "maneater"
like the king of the jungle.
But in 2005, three lions played a crucial role in saving an innocent young girl.
Kidnapped from her village by four men, the 12-year-old Ethiopian adolescent spent a week
under their watch, enduring physical harm from the men as they attempted to transport
her.
As they attempted to flee with the abducted girl, though, three lions swiftly pounced
on the kidnapping party, sending them running for their lives!
The girl was left crying, surrounded by the lions for hours.
Rather than making her into their next meal, though, these tan-furred protectors stood
by as sentries, shielding her from danger until police arrived to the rescue.
Some experts claim the lions were simply preparing to feast, but others believe the girls sobbing
mimicked the mews of a lion cub, securing her safety from the would-be predators.
Number 9.
Sea Lion Lifeguard Life is worth living.
And who would know that better than a sea lion, an animal that spends its time split
between lounging on the beach and swimming in the freedom of the ocean?
In 2006, one sea lion felt the need to share this sentiment with a 19-year-old young man
who had decided for one reason or another to leap off of the Golden Gate Bridge!
Somehow, he survived the 250 foot fall, but suffered intense damage to his body as his
back broke and shattered from the impact with the water's surface.
Racked with pain, the teenager was unable to swim and seemed doom to drown when a sea
lion approached.
The furry swimmer circled the victim before nudging him from below, keeping the young
man's head above water.
Rescuers eventually arrived to pull him out of the water, but the 19-year-old would have
certainly drowned if not for the sea lion's actions.
Number 8.
Beaver Blanket One young boy from Ontario, Canada witnessed
a tragic event while on a camping trip when he saw his parent's drown after their boat
tipped over.
Stuck on shore, he attempted to seek aid from a nearby town amid the chaotic event, but
quickly realized he would be unable to make it to civilization before the sun set.
Cold, damp, and crying, the boy laid down in despair as the night grew frigid.
To his surprise, he felt a furry, warm body cuddle up to his back as he tried to doze
off.
Writing it off as a dog, the adolescent finally fell asleep after a truly terrible day.
But as he awoke, the boy found himself surrounded and partially covered by a trio of beavers.
The dam-building rodents had huddled around him and shared their body warmth to get through
the below freezing temperatures of the night.
Had these beavers never shown, the boy most certainly wouldn't have survived to see the
morning.
Number 7.
Elephant Levee As a tsunami in 2004 came crashing down on
the people of Thailand, one English 8-year-old girl found herself stuck in the middle of
the torrential downpour.
At the time, Amber Mason was enjoying the common tourist activity of riding an elephant.
But as high waves came smashing into the shoreline, Mason's new friend, named Ningnong, dashed
away from the shore at the command of its owner.
Ningnong carried the girl to the highest point of the beach and used its massive girth to
shield her from the dangerous waters of the tsunami.
Mason's parents believe the girl would have definitely been swept away by the thrashing
currents were it not for Ningnong.
The Mason family now sends a small monthly payment to Ningnong's owner to show thanks
for saving Amber's life.
Number 6.
Motherly Instincts Observing nature can be a magical sight, and
69-year-old Robert Biggs was experiencing it first hand while on a hike in the woods
of Northern California.
He had run across a mother bear and her cubs while traversing the forest and sat to watch
the beauty of nature from a safe distance.
After a few moments, he decided to depart when he was stopped suddenly by a mountain
lion that had been stalking him on his trek!
The large cat knocked Biggs down as it latched onto his backpack.
He tried to fight back with a rock pick, striking the predator in the skull, but to no avail.
Suddenly, a massive brown blur descended on his attacker with fury.
The mother bear he had been watching leapt into action, detaching the cat's claws from
Biggs and proceeded to fight if off after a moment of tussling.
As the mountain lion fled, the bear calmed down and made eye contact with the hiker before
returning to its cubs nearby.
Biggs survived the ordeal with just a handful of scratches and bruises.
Number 5.
Crime Fighting Deer Late one night in Oxford, Ohio, a woman was
headed home from a party when she was suddenly attacked by a man from behind.
The assailant struck her in the face and attempted to strangle her with her own purse when an
unlikely hero pounced forth from the bushes.
A deer, believed to have been sleeping nearby, lunged out of the brush towards the man, scaring
him and sending him fleeing into the darkness with deer closely behind.
The victim was then able to gather her belongings and escape the terrifying ordeal, all thanks
to her cleft-hoofed savior.
Aside from a few bruises and red marks, the woman got away unharmed.
The local police sergeant told reporters that in all his time on the force, they'd never
received a report quite like that.
Number 4.
Goat Nurse From comic strips to America's Funniest Home
Videos, watching people slip and fall can be hilarious to 3rd party viewers.
With age, this slapstick routine can shift from funny to frightening, though, as the
elderly become much more at risk of serious injury.
As was the case for Australian farmer Noel Osborne in 2002.
At the ripe age of 78, Osborne slipped on manure and went crashing into the ground,
breaking a hip in the process.
Unable to move and left waiting for a passerby to hear his plight, Osborne lied on the ground,
incapable of movement, for the next five days.
Given the circumstances, he should have been doomed, were it not for his goat.
Mandy curled up next to Osborne for the following nights to keep both parties warm and allowed
him to drink milk directly from her to keep his health up.
He eventually recovered and spent every day from then on praising the sanctity of goat's
milk.
Number 3.
Partners in Stride Farms are full of potential hazards between
the gritty outdoors, heavy agricultural machinery, and the large, domestic animals that inhabit
them.
Scottish farmer Fiona Boyd found out just how dangerous cows can be one morning when
a territorial mother attacked her while Boyd tried to relocate her calf.
The dairy cow rushed the farmer, knocking her to the ground.
As the chaos escalated, Boyd was sure she would meet her end to the crushing force of
the cow's hooves.
But just in the nick of time, her horse, Kerry Gold, showed up to kick the aggressive cow
away from Boyd.
It remained batting at the combative cow until Boyd could make it across an electrified barbed
wire fence, safe from the bovine's wrath.
From then on, Kerry Gold would continue escorting people within the paddock, protecting humans
from the dangers of angry cows until its passing.
Number 2.
Man's Best Friend With a title like "Man's Best Friend", it's
no wonder that dogs would make the top of this list.
Cursory research will bring you tales of canine courage from all over the world.
Like the story of Khan, the Doberman Pinscher who saved the life of his youngest owner from
a king brown snake only days after being adopted.
Or the chronicle of Penny, the labrador that saved an unconscious woman in the water after
her wheelchair was found along the shoreline.
And the anecdote of Toby, the Golden Retriever who leaped onto his owner's chest and beat
down on it to clear a piece of apple from her airway!
Dozens of similar stories about life-saving dogs are out there and there will certainly
be many more to come.
Number 1.
Gorilla's Cradle Back in 1996, zoo-goers witnessed a frightful
occurrence at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo.
A three-year-old child fell into the gorilla exhibit, sending witnesses into a panic.
Before any further injury could occur, though, a female gorilla named Binti Jua launched
into action.
She quickly protected the boy from other gorillas in the enclosure and rocked him in her arms
until the zoo's medical staff could arrive and treat his injuries from the fall.