Buzz
While we are accustomed to hearing about pets rescuing their owners, wild animals have also stepped in to save strangers. Dolphins, porpoises, deer, lions, bears, and even whales have all come to the aid of humans in life-threatening situations.
Not every animal on this list intended to save humans, though. Some became accidental heroes, and in some cases, the true motivations behind their actions remain unclear. In one remarkable instance, it's believed that the animals who saved a human might have been planning to feast on them instead.
10. Lions Rescue a Girl from Kidnappers
In June 2005, a 12-year-old Ethiopian girl was kidnapped by four men while walking home from school. (Such kidnappings are sadly common in rural Ethiopia, where men sometimes abduct women to force them into marriage.) After a week of captivity, the girl was abandoned by her captors when three lions approached the group while police were still in pursuit.
Surprisingly, the lions did not harm the girl as many might have expected. Instead, they simply stayed by her side and left quietly when the police arrived. A wildlife expert speculated that the lions spared her because her crying sounded similar to a lion cub's. However, not everyone believes the lions were acting heroically. A game hunter suggested the lions had intended to eat the girl, but were interrupted by the arrival of the police.
9. Sea Lion Rescues Man from Drowning
In 2000, Kevin Hines, overwhelmed by bipolar disorder and depression, decided to end his life by drowning. He chose the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco for his final act. However, he didn’t drown as expected. A sea lion kept him above the water and saved his life.
At first, Hines thought the sea lion was a shark, which scared him. Although he was trying to commit suicide, he hadn’t planned on being eaten by a shark. But he soon realized his companion was a sea lion, which kept bumping into him to keep him afloat. The sea lion stayed with him until a Coast Guard rescue boat arrived.
In addition to keeping Hines above water, the sea lion also helped rescuers find him quickly. Without the sea lion’s assistance, the Coast Guard would have spent much longer searching for Kevin's body in the water.
8. Dolphins Protect Lifeguards from Shark Attack
On October 20, 2004, Rob Howes, a lifeguard, and three teenagers, including his daughter, were swimming at Ocean Beach near Whangarei, New Zealand, when they found themselves surrounded by seven bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins began to swim around them, forming a protective circle.
As Howes and one of the swimmers drifted away from the group, a dolphin followed them, diving underneath. Curious, Howes went underwater and discovered a great white shark circling them. That’s when he understood: the dolphins were protecting them from the shark.
Howes didn’t tell the teenage lifeguards about the shark to avoid alarming them. Meanwhile, another lifeguard, Matt Fleet, who had witnessed the scene from the shore, came out in a boat. He also saw the shark. The dolphins kept circling the lifeguards for 40 minutes until the shark finally left.
Dr. Rochelle Constantine from Auckland University’s School of Biological Sciences explained that while rare, such incidents are not unheard of. Dolphins have been seen defending other animals from sharks. In New Zealand’s waters, sharks typically don’t pose a major threat to bottlenose dolphins, although the dolphins will fight back if they feel endangered.
7. Deer Rescues Woman from Unknown Attacker
This is the story of a wild animal unknowingly coming to the aid of a human.
In February 2012, an unnamed woman in Oxford, Ohio, was saved by a deer. She had been at a party that evening and was walking home around 1:00 AM when a man grabbed her, punched her, and attempted to steal her purse, dragging her into a nearby field.
A deer had been peacefully sleeping in the field but was startled by the noise of the struggle. It immediately jumped up and ran away, which caused the man to flee as well, leaving the woman alone. She was able to return to the party and call 911. Unfortunately, she was unable to provide a description of the man to the authorities.
6. Dolphins Rescue Surfer from Shark Attack
On August 28, 2016, Todd Endris was surfing at Marina State Park, California, when he found himself under attack by a great white shark. The shark struck three times. The first assault was unsuccessful, as the shark only grazed him while he was lying on his surfboard. However, it was enough to alert Todd to the shark's presence.
The second strike was more intense. The shark clamped onto Todd’s torso and part of his surfboard. While it didn’t rip him open, it managed to tear skin off his back. Had his stomach not been pressed against the surfboard, the shark likely would have damaged his internal organs.
The shark launched a third attack, this time targeting Todd’s right leg. It grabbed his leg in its jaws and tried to tear it off. Todd fought back bravely, using his left leg to kick the shark in the head and snout until it finally released him. At this point, dolphins appeared. They surrounded Todd, shielding him from further attacks as he made his way back to shore.
Todd’s friend quickly administered first aid before he was transported to the hospital. He had lost half of his blood in the attack, and the bone in his right leg was exposed. Some lifeguards and friends, who had witnessed the ordeal from shore, believed he wouldn’t survive. After undergoing surgery, Todd recovered and was back surfing just six weeks later.
5. Whale Rescues Woman from Shark Attack
In October 2017, while swimming near the Cook Islands, Nan Hauser had an unexpected encounter with a humpback whale. The whale repeatedly nudged her with its head and belly, even trying to lift her onto its head, belly, and back. Additionally, it made several attempts to position her beneath its pectoral fin.
As a marine biologist, Hauser was puzzled by the whale's strange behavior. She had never witnessed anything like this before. However, after leaving the water and returning to her research vessel, Hauser noticed a 4.6-meter-long (15 ft) tiger shark swimming nearby. It soon became clear that the whale was protecting her from the shark.
This was not the first instance of a humpback whale protecting another animal from a predator. In 2009, a humpback whale was seen defending a Weddell seal from killer whales. Furthermore, in 2017, humpback whales prevented killer whales from attacking baby gray whales off the coast of California. It is believed that humpback whales display such protective behaviors due to their natural instinct to safeguard their own young from predators.
4. Man Attacked by Mountain Lion, Rescued by Bear
On March 26, 2012, while hiking in the woods of Whiskey Flats, California, Robert Biggs was suddenly attacked by a mountain lion. Earlier in the day, he had been observing a bear and her cub. As Biggs prepared to leave, the mountain lion ambushed him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Though he tried to fight the lion off, it wasn’t until the bear intervened that the situation began to change.
The bear and the lion clashed for a while before the lion ultimately fled the scene. The bear then returned to her cub, while Biggs made his way back home. His only injury was to his arm. Biggs speculated that the mountain lion had intended to attack the bear’s cub but switched its focus to him when he arrived. Despite this, the bear defended herself and her cub.
3. Famous Actor Saved by Porpoises
In 2010, actor Dick Van Dyke shared a remarkable story on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, revealing that he was once rescued by a group of porpoises. Van Dyke made this disclosure after Ferguson inquired whether he had ever surfed near his California home. Van Dyke admitted he had, but quit after nearly losing his life in an incident.
Van Dyke explained that while surfing one day, he fell asleep on his board. Upon waking, he discovered he had drifted far from shore and was surrounded by fins. Initially fearing the worst, he thought the fins belonged to sharks, but soon realized they were actually porpoises. These helpful creatures guided him safely back to the shore.
2. Shipwrecked Woman Saved by Dolphins
In the early 1970s, Yvonne Vladislavich was aboard a boat off the coast of Mozambique when the engine failed. Some sources even suggest that the engine exploded. The boat was left adrift and was eventually sunk by a wave.
Being a skilled swimmer, Yvonne decided to try to make her way to shore. However, a dangerous situation arose when six sharks began to circle her, growing increasingly aggressive. Just in time, a group of dolphins appeared and kept the sharks at bay while escorting Yvonne as she swam and drifted for 40 kilometers (25 miles), until she reached a buoy.
Without the dolphins' assistance, Yvonne would have certainly drowned. She grew increasingly fatigued during her swim and would have succumbed to exhaustion if the dolphins hadn't kept her afloat. She was the only one to survive out of the four people on the boat.
1. Fisherman Saved by Dolphins
In 2002, Grant Dickson was sailing his trawler off the coast of Queensland, Australia, when disaster struck, and the boat sank. Clinging to an upturned dinghy, Dickson found himself stranded in the water, bleeding, and surrounded by sharks that circled him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Among the sharks, one in particular showed a clear intent to attack, getting closer and closer. Just in time, a group of dolphins arrived, driving the sharks away. However, Dickson’s ordeal was far from over. He remained in the water for a grueling 40 hours until he was finally rescued by a passing ship.
Dickson was the sole survivor of the three men on the trawler. One of the other crew members had clung to the dinghy with him but, in desperation, left and attempted to swim to shore. Unfortunately, he never made it. The search for the missing crew members involved 18 aircraft, covering over 2,000 nautical miles.
