Sometimes Animals Rescue People And Are Lauded As Heroes


By now, you may have heard the news about the boy who fell into a gorilla enclosure in the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday. That story ended tragically when a 17-year-old male lowland gorilla was shot dead in front of horrified onlookers. Whether the death of Harambe was justified or not remains a topic of debate. In the meantime, it is worth noting that there have been numerous occasions when animals have actually rescued humans in peril.

Among the most notable animal heroes, and one that is being recalled by many news sources today, is a western lowland gorilla who lives at the Brookfield Zoo in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Her name is Binti Jua, a name that means “daughter of the sunshine” in Swahili. 20-years-ago this summer, when Binti Jua was 8-years-old, she rescued a small boy who’d managed to fall into her enclosure. With her own baby on her back, the mama gorilla scooped up and gently carried the unconscious child to a service door in her enclosure where he could be delivered to zookeepers. NBC5 Chicago reported that Newsweek magazine named Binti Jua Hero of the Year, and she was also one of People magazine’s Most Intriguing People of 1996.

30-years-ago, another gorilla made the news when he watched over a 5-year-old boy who’d tumbled into his enclosure at the Jersey Zoo.

It’s remarkable news when a creature as massive as a gorilla saves a small child, but primates are not the only animals who’ve rescued humans. From pigeons to potbellied pigs, and dogs to dolphins, a diversity of beasts have behaved in ways that appear to be altruistic and heroic.

Cher Ami, The World War I Carrier Pigeon

During World Wars I and II, more than 200,000 carrier pigeons were enlisted into service by the U.S. Armed Forces. Trained to relay written messages and conduct airborne surveillance, carrier pigeons were imperative to the American war effort. One such feathered soldier was a pigeon named Cher Ami. Stationed in France with the U.S. Army Signal Corps at the height of WW2, Cher Ami delivered a dozen crucial messages before being shot in mid-air. Despite wounds to the breast and legs, Cher Ami successfully delivered his final message to its destination.

“We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it!”

Once received, the message enabled the rescue of almost 200 soldiers in Major Charles Whittlesey’s “Lost Battalion.” According to Time magazine, Cher Ami was awarded the French Croix de Guerre award for heroism and posthumously inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame.

LuLu, The Potbellied Pig

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the news about a pet Vietnamese potbellied pig who saved the life of her owner in a most unusual way. The year was 1998, and JoAnn Altsman was alone in her Presque Isle home. Her husband was on Lake Erie angling for that night’s dinner. Mrs. Altsman, then 61-years-old, felt familiar chest pains and knew she was suffering a heart attack just as she had less than 2 years before. JoAnn told the Post-Gazette that she chucked an alarm clock through a window and screamed for help to no avail. Her dog, Bear, did nothing but bark, while her pet pig LuLu began to cry “big, fat tears.”

In an uncharacteristic maneuver, LuLu managed to squeeze her 150-pound piggy body through a doggie door. She broke through a gate, made her way to the middle of the road and laid down. It took 45 minutes, but a motorist did eventually stop. That’s when LuLu led the man back to the door of the Altsman home. He hollered something about a pig being in distress, and JoAnn Altsman hollered back that she was in distress, too. A life flight helicopter was summoned, and Mrs. Altsman was evacuated to the Beaver Medical Center where she underwent successful heart surgery. She said that doctors told her that had she been rescued 15 minutes later, she probably would have died.

Trackr, The World Trade Center Rescue Dog

Genelle Guzman-McMillan, a secretary at the Port Authority, owes her life to a German Shepherd named Trackr. Guzman-McMillan’s office was on the 64th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. She was riding an elevator downward on the morning of September 11, 2001 when the building collapsed around her. Her leg was crushed under a massive pile of broken concrete, and she was unable to move or call for help. 27 hours later, an NYPD rescue dog sniffed out her location. Following Trackr’s lead, firefighters were able to extricate the woman from what would have been certain death.

Dolphin Pod Saves California surfer

In August 2007, Todd Endris was enjoying the morning lineup at Marina State Park in Monterey, California. With no warning whatsoever, a great white shark viciously attacked the 24-year-old surfer. Endris told Today that the shark, estimated to be 12 to 15-feet long, chomped him and his surfboard simultaneously. The beast came back for another bite, shredding the skin on the surfer’s back and tearing a bone-deep gash in his leg.

“The second time, he came down and clamped on my torso — sandwiched my board and my torso in his mouth.”

As the shark attacked a third time, Endris’ foot lodged in the shark’s jaws, enabling him to bash the beast in the snout until it released its grip. That’s when a pod of dolphins arrived, quickly encircling the injured man and guiding him to shore. Outnumbered, the great white swam into the depths of the marine wildlife refuge. Grateful to the cetaceans who rescued him, Endris expressed relief that the shark got away. “I wouldn’t want to go after the shark anyway,” he told reporters. “We’re in his realm, not the other way around.”

As the world debates the death of a gorilla in Cincinnati, it’s good to remember that sometimes animals are amazing heroes who go above and beyond their nature to offer assistance to people in need.

[Photo by Nick Ut/AP Images]

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