animals that saved lives

10 remarkable animals that have saved lives

Pig dashes into street for heart attack victim

JoAnn Altsman had a heart attack and collapsed to the ground. Lulu, her daughter's pot-bellied pig, rushed out of the house, lying down in the street to stop traffic. The pig tried relentlessly to get help, returning to the house to check on JoAnn, only to rush back to the street for help. Finally, one person stopped and followed the determined pig back to the house, where they found Altsman in pain on the floor. She was immediately rushed to a hospital.

Goat feeds farmer milk, keeps him warm for 5 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 going smoothly until she tried to move her legs and she couldn't. That's when Mila, one of the beluga whales, came to her rescue. Sensing something was wrong, the animal 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 a 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.

Willie the parrot gives the squawk of his life

A 2-year-old named Hannah would have choked to death if it wasn't for Willie the parrot. “While I was in the bathroom, Willie started screaming like I'd never heard him scream before and he started flapping his wings," said Meagan, the babysitter (pictured here with Willie). "Then he started saying 'mama baby' over and over and over again until I came out and looked at Hannah and Hannah's face was turning blue.” Willie saved the day.

 

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, likely 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.

Cat warns family about carbon monoxide

After a gasoline-powered water pump leaked odorless carbon monoxide into the Keesling family's home, their cat Winnie began to nudge and meow loudly at their ears. “It was a crazy meow, almost like she was screaming,” said Cathy Keesling. By the time she got up, Cathy Keesling was already dizzy and nauseous from the fumes, and her husband and son were completely unconscious. But thanks to Winnie, Cathy was able to dial 911 before anyone was seriously harmed.

Elephant saves a girl from 2004 tsunami

8-year-old Amber Mason was saved by a 4-year-old elephant during the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. 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 a 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.