Posted on 11/04/2012 11:32:02 AM PST by Slings and Arrows
You don't have to be pulled out of a well by a plucky collie to know that there is such a thing as hero animals. But when you think of them, you probably picture disaster rescue dogs or a chimp sheriff ... the usual stuff. What you don't picture are lions, gorillas and even whales throwing themselves in harm's way to save some helpless human. But you will now ...
(Excerpt) Read more at cracked.com ...
http://www.cracked.com/article_20054_7-true-stories-animals-rescuing-people-from-certain-death.html
Best to start from page 1.
Certain death?
They were saved. So I guess it wasn’t certain.
Probably is, at that.
Yeah, but “saved from UNcertain death” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Unfortunately, today this isn’t one of the good stories. :(
3 year-old mauled at Pittsburgh Zoo (painted dogs exhibit, child falls in)
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How about “Formerly Certain Death?”
“Delayed Post-Mortality?”
My cat once tried to pull me out of the bathtub when I was taking a bath by gently holding onto my hand with her mouth. It was so cute, lol.
Didn’t want me to drown. Maybe to him it was ‘certain death’;)
Of course he saved your life - just ask him!
I was swimming in Florida when I noticed a 13 1/2 foot alligator coming for me. He wasn’t quite 14 feet, but he sure wasn’t 13 feet even, so I’m estimating. Anyway. He was coming at me (I knew he was a male because he had horns) with a look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t there to play MARCO POLO. I knew I was a goner. Suddenly, I felt something grab me by the leg and pull me away! It was a 12 foot alligator! He did this rolling-thing which is I guess some kind of alligator greeting ritual. He then buried me under a bank to hide me from the other alligator. What a pal! I crawled out and went home. I realized I hadn’t presented him with an award. So, I went back and found him and gave him the Remington 12 Gauge Slug Award right between the eyes. I’m sure he treasured that award. I made some boots out of him.
In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.
As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.
The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.
Probably wasn’t the same elephant.
A worthy reward indeed.
“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know.” - Groucho Marx
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