10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals

Animals are indeed human’s best friends. Besides their loyalty to their owners, animals are also a great company and provide us with loads of positive emotions. And most of the time, they are braver than us humans and tend to go out of their way to rescue people and save human life.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Eden Saga

Today, we will look into ten such incidents where animals used their capacity to think, intuitiveness, and made decisions to step up and save humans from life-threatening situations. Let us meet some of these brave animals!

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Lions Save A Girl From Kidnappers

In June 2005, a 12-year-old girl in Ethiopia walked home from school when four men abducted her. The captivators kept her for an entire week, beat her up, and tried to force the kid into a marriage. The countryside of Ethiopia has seen many such incidents where men abduct women to forcefully marry them.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Medium

Since the police were trailing kidnappers, they attempted to move the girl to a new location. However, their plan was foiled by three lions that chased the kidnappers off. According to Sergeant Wondmu Wedaj, the lions protected the little girl until the police arrived and later disappeared into the woods.

The girl later claimed that while the kidnappers had beaten her, the lions never threatened her, which everyone saw as a miracle. An Ethiopian wildlife expert later explained that the lions might have left the girl without harming her because her cries might have sounded like the mewing of one of their cubs.

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Wild Beavers Save An Orphan Boy From Freezing

Rheal Guindon, a young boy from Ontario, Canada, was out camping with his parents, who decided to go fishing on a boat. Rheal chose to stay onshore, only to see his parents’ boat tip over and see his parent tragically die.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Clanimal

Traumatized by the incident, Rheal attempted to walk to the nearest town. Since it was already dusk and the night was about to fall, he knew he would have to spend the rest of his night outside sleeping on the cold, damp ground. As he lay on the ground, he felt a warm furry body pressing against him.

Thinking it was a dog, Rheal soon fell asleep. Upon waking the next morning, Rheal realized that three wild beavers were curled up next to him. The beavers had kept the boy warm when the temperature dipped below freezing during the night.

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Sea Lion Rescues A Mental Patient From Drowning

California resident Kevin Hines, suffering from bipolar disorder and depression and decided to end his life. He chose to commit suicide by jumping off the very famous Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. Astoundingly, 19-year-old Hines survived the impact but was severely injured in the accident.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Listverse

During his desperate moves to stay afloat in the freezing water, Kevin realized that there is an unknown animal beneath him. Kevin initially thought it was a shark, which of course, freaked him out. He was ready to die, but his plan never included getting killed by a shark. However, he soon realized the unknown companion was a sea lion.

The sea lion kept bumping Kevin’s body and helped to keep him above the water. Soon after, the Coast Guards came to the rescue of Kevin. If it were not for the sea lion, the Coast Guard would have spent hours searching for Kevin’s body underwater.

Pig Saves Its Owner From Heart Attack

Pigs are considered to be incredibly smart and perceptive animals. Jo Ann Altsman and her domesticated pig, Lulu, can attest to this. Jo Ann Altsman suffered a severe heart attack during a vacation; her husband was not at home, and the only other soul present in the house was her pot-bellied pig, Lulu.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Celebrity Pet Worth

Jo Ann instantly collapsed and fell on the floor after suffering a major heart attack. Lulu, the pig, immediately realized that there was a problem and quickly figured out a way to help her owner. She squeezed Jo Ann’s unconscious body through the door, cutting her stomach. She somehow managed to open the fence, walked into the road, laying in the middle of the road, oinking.

Seeing the distressed pig, a driver stopped. Lulu immediately led the driver to Altsman, who then called the ambulance. Doctors later told that Jo Ann Altsman could not have made it if they were 15 minutes late. For Lulu’s courage, Jo Ann awarded her with a jelly donut, and the family no longer eats pigs.

Deer Chases Woman’s Attacker Away

In February 2012, an unspecified woman was saved by a deer in Oxford, Ohio. The lady returned home from a late-night party when a man grabbed her and dragged her behind a building. The man was trying to rob the woman and was busy choking her with her purse straps.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Petslady

But the man’s plans were thwarted by a heroic deer that jumped from underneath a bush nearby and scared him off. The man fled away from the scene when he heard the deer, leaving the woman all alone. The woman suffered from a few red marks and minor bruises and did not require immediate medical assistance.

Scared after the incident, she then went back to the party and called 911 to report the incident. She was not able to describe the attacker. But thanks to the deer and its quick-thinking action, the woman survived and did not even lose any of her belongings.

Dolphins To The Rescue Of Lifeguard And His Family

It was just another regular day for lifeguard Rob Howes when he took his 15-year-old daughter Niccy and two of her friends swimming at Ocean Beach, near Whangarei, New Zealand. Suddenly a pod of bottlenose dolphins approached them and herded them together.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Dolphin Way

According to Rob, the dolphins were behaving weirdly. They formed a defensive chain by circling him and his family while slapping the water hard with their tails. When Rod turned around, he saw a big 3 meters long great white shark heading towards them. The pod of dolphins defended Rob, his daughter, and her friends for 40 minutes until they reached safer waters.

Dr. Rochelle Constantine of Auckland University School of Biological Sciences said that the incident was rare but was not unheard-of. Dolphins have often been observed protecting other animals from shark attacks, and they would also attack the sharks if they feel they are in danger.

Humpback Whale Saves Woman From Shark

Like the previous story, this tale also includes an aquatic animal protecting a human from a possible shark attack. However, in this case, it was a humpback whale that stood up to the shark. In October 2017, Nan Hauser, a whale biologist, was swimming off the Cook Island on her research dive.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Live Science

A humpback whale suddenly appeared near her, which made her scared and confused. The whale kept bumping into Nan with its belly and head. It was trying to carry Nan on its head, belly, and back, and it also wanted to put her under its pectoral fin. It was then she became aware of a large 15-feet-long tiger shark swimming towards her.

Finally, with the help of the whale, she was able to leave the water and returned to her research vessel. However, this is not the first time humpback whales protected other animals from underwater threats. Like dolphins, they are also believed to protect other animals because of their natural instinct to protect their young ones from water predators.

Mother Bear Versus The Mountain Lion

Robert Biggs, an experienced mountain hiker, was hiking in the Californian woods on the 26th of March 2012. He was watching a bear and her cub when suddenly, a mountain lion attacked Biggs from behind, pushing him onto the ground.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Africa Wild Animals/ YouTube

Thanks to Robert’s backpack, the lion could not reach his face. Robert unsuccessfully tried to fight the lion, but it was apparent his strength was no match. However, the hiker’s fate soon changed when the mother bear jumped in and decided to save him.

The bear and lion fought for some time until finally, the mother bear chased the lion into the woods. Robert Biggs returned with some minor injuries to his arm and with everlasting memories. Biggs believed that the lion was planning to attack the bear’s cub but turned on him instead.

Porpoises To The Rescue Of A Famous Celebrity

In 2010, American actor Dick Van Dyke revealed on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson that a group of porpoises once saved him. Dyke explained that as a young surfer, he was enjoying the waves off the coast of Virginia. He was lied down on his surfing board and fell asleep.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Grunge

Upon waking up, he found he was nowhere near land, but a group of porpoises accompanied him. He could not see them but could see their fins circling him. Van initially thought they were sharks but later realized a group of porpoises had come to rescue him.

The porpoises were swimming beside him and gently nudged his board toward the shore until he was close to land. After surviving the incident, Van stopped surfing forever.

Elephant Rescues A Girl From 2004 Thailand Tsunami

Amber Owen, an 8-year-old British girl, was on vacation in Thailand when the 2004 Tsunami occurred. The morning the tsunami happened, she was in an elephant camp in Kanchanaburi. She was riding Ning Nong, the elephant, when the tsunami started.

10 Humans Who Were Saved By Animals
Image Source: Daily Mail

When the sea receded, Ning Nong immediately sensed the danger and headed away from the sea, with the little girl on his back. While other tourists were disappearing under the waves, Ning Nong and the girl were on their way to the city. Unfortunately, Ning Nong had to make a stop when he came to a small wall.

The elephant leaned against the wall, opposed the seawater’s mammoth force, and gave Amber the time to jump over the wall and save her life. Amber does not know what happened to Ning Nong, but she is thankful to him for saving her life.

The Bottom Line

These courageous and compassionate stories of animals saving human lives, and eliminating the threat, show that they are exceptional. Animals are truly a man’s best friend.