Random Surprising Animal Heroes Who Changed Human Lives (15 items)

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  (#1) Binti Jua The Gorilla Acted Maternally

  Back in 1996, a little boy who was visiting the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, Illinois, got a little too enthusiastic, climbed over a barrier, and ended up accidentally falling 20 feet into the gorilla habitat. That was when eight-year-old female gorilla Binti Jua, herself a new mother at the time, walked over and picked up the unconscious boy. She carried the boy away from the other gorillas and was even said by some witnesses to rock him like a baby, until zoo workers were able to retrieve and rush him to the hospital where he made a full recovery. 
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  (#2) Lulu The Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig Proved To Be The Ultimate Life Alert

  A Vietnamese pot-bellied pig may not be everybody's first choice for a pet, but one such creature named Lulu proved that they're definitely not a bad one. When Lulu's owner Jo Ann suffered a heart attack, Lulu ran to a nearby road and positioned herself in the middle of it until a driver stopped, let Lulu lead him to Jo Ann, and called 911.
  
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  (#3) Ning Nong The Elephant Saved A Little Girl From Tsunami Tragedy

  When the tsunami of 2004 hit Phuket, Thailand, an eight-year-old named Amber Mason was on vacation with her family, enjoying an elephant ride. Luckily, her elephant Ning Nong sensed something wasn't right and took off away from the ocean with the girl still on his back. Even when the waves caught up to them, he continued to shield the child from the water with his body, keeping her from being swept away and quite possibly saving her life.
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  (#4) Bhoori The Swimming Cow Came To A Grandmother's Rescue

  During the massive floods that swept through her hometown in Pakistan, 70 year-old grandmother Zainab Bibi was swept away from her home. As she attempted to fight the floodwaters, Ms. Bibi suddenly looked over to find the family cow Bhoori, swimming through the currents beside her. Bhoori allowed the grandmother of 16 to cling to her neck as she navigated the flood and eventually led them both to safety. 
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  (#5) Gimpy The Elephant Seal Defended Her Caretaker

  When she was brought into California's Marine Mammal Care Center back in 1994, Gimpy the elephant seal had just suffered an injury which left her partially blind and paralyzed. It was volunteer Hugh Ryno's kindness that helped Gimpy figure out how to readjust to her new surroundings, as well as cemented a deep friendship between the two.

  It was on the day when Hugh fell into the pool and was nearly attacked by three young male seals, however, that Gimpy really stepped up to the plate. Throwing herself between the would-be attackers and her friend, Gimpy gave the smaller males a display of her teeth while bobbing her head. The three males backed down and Hugh was able to escape their attack safely.
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  (#6) Filippo The Dolphin Rescued A Boy

  A dolphin named Filippo had already been enjoying a two-year-stint as a popular tourist attraction off the coast of Manfredonia in southeast Italy, when the day arrived that he would be promoted to the status of a local hero. It all started when a 14-year-old boy named Davide Ceci fell off of his father's boat and into the ocean, without anyone realizing what had happened. Though the boy couldn't swim, he was saved from drowning by the timely arrival of Filippo, who pushed him back up towards the boat until his father realized he had fallen and grabbed him.
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  (#7) Mila The Beluga Whale Came To A Diver's Rescue

  What could go wrong during a breath-holding competition held in frigid water full of beluga whales? Perhaps not what you'd think, as it turns out! During one such competition in China, diver Yang Yun was all good until she attempted to swim back up to the surface, only to discover that her legs had been paralyzed by the freezing temperature of the water. That's when Mila the beluga whale came to the rescue by gently taking hold of one of Yang's legs and pushing her to the surface!
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  (#8) Willie The Quaker Parrot Helped Save A Toddler

  Back in 2006, Willie was chilling at home with his mom Samantha, who was babysitting her roommate's two-year-old daughter, Hannah. Confident that the toddler was entranced in a cartoon, Samantha went for a quick potty break, only to hear Willie wildly squawking "Mama! Baby!" She ran back into the room to find the toddler choking on a piece of Pop-Tart and quickly gave her the Heimlich maneuver, saving the girl's life due to Willie's watchful vigilance. 
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  (#9) A Rampaging Elephant Halted His Charge

  One day in the Olgara Village of West Bengal, India, a rogue elephant charged through the wall of a village home in search of food. At the sound of a baby crying within the house, however, the feisty elephant was miraculously quick to halt his rampage and even began to clean off rubble he had knocked onto the girl with his trunk. To the astonishment of the girl's parents, he then sauntered back off into the forest.
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  (#10) Mandy The Goat Proved To Be Her Farmer's Best Friend

  When Noel Osborne suffered an injury on his farm that left him incapable of moving due to a broken hip, Mandy the goat joined his dog in coming to the rescue. The two never left Noel's side for the five days he was trapped outside, huddling close to him to keep him warm at night. Mandy even let him drink her milk to survive until Noel's friends finally came by and heard his calls for help. 
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  (#11) Joy The Sea Otter Helped Raise Orphaned Pups

  California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium is not only an awesome tourist attraction, but also operates a rehabilitation program for orphaned and abandoned sea otters, many of whom are able to be released back into the wild.

  Among the all-star members of their staff's history however, was Joy, a naturally maternal little gal who was herself abandoned as a sea otter pup. Unwilling to let her early childhood trauma get her down, however, Joy became know as the center's "super mom" and helped raise more than 20 orphaned pups before passing away at the ripe age of 14 in 2012.
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  (#12) Cher Ami The Carrier Pigeon Was A Wartime Hero

  Say what you will about pigeonkind, but back during WWI, a feathery little dude named Cher Ami proved to be the ultimate wartime badass. Dispatched as the last available hope for the men of Major Whittlesey’s “Lost Battalion,” who had become the accidental victims of friendly fire, Cher Ami was sent to deliver a message which would end up saving 194 men.

  Even though he was shot, blinded, and lost a leg during his flight, Cher Ami still pushed on and delivered the message. Army medics were so grateful that they not only saved the little guy's life, but even carved him a wooden leg to replace the one he had lost.
  
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  (#13) Sgt. Reckless The Warhorse Earned Multiple Medals

  After being purchased from a young Korean boy, Reckless the Warhorse joined the U.S. Marine Corps back in 1952 and quickly became an indispensable aid during the Korean War. It only took her a few walk-throughs on how to deliver ammo to the front lines to memorize the task, at which point she went on to make the trip as many as 51 times during battle - mostly by herself and under enemy fire. 

  She went on to become a decorated soldier, being awarded multiple medals such as two Purple Hearts. a Presidential Unit Citation with star, and a United Nations Service Medal, among others.
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  (#14) Chewa The Lab Rat Sniffed Out Tuberculosis

  He may not look like your average hero, but to his fellow lab workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Chewa the African giant-pouched rat is a rock star. Each morning, he uses his special training to sniff out tuberculosis in a series of samples from patients, and indicates to his co-workers each sample in which he identifies the disease.  

  Not only are Chewa and his fellow rats much cheaper than conventional testing, they can screen as many samples in 20 minutes as it take the average lab tech to go through in four days.
  
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  (#15) Moko The Dolphin May Have Led Some Whales To Safety

  Though Moko the dolphin was a well-known friend to the humans of New Zealand's North Island, he once proved to be just as helpful a buddy to his own kind as well. One day when a mother pygmy sperm whale and her calf wandered into shallow waters, the humans on shore were having problems helping rescue them from being beached. That's when Moko swam up, and according to witnesses, seemed to communicate with the whales in such a way that he was able to lead them back to deeper water.

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