Amazing Animal Encounters

This week, an incredible story of animal and human interaction went viral across social channels. A beluga whale in Norway, suspected of being a Russian “spy”, returned a cell phone to an observer. Obviously eager to please, the whale cheerfully returned the phone that was accidentally dropped into the ocean!

While the story would be unbelievable without footage, animals assisting humans are not as rare as one might think. Stories of creatures cooperating with humans and giving them a helping paw or fin can be found across the web. Here are a few of our favorites! 

Long-distance swimmer, Adam Walker, was trekking through New Zealand’s Cook Strait when a 6-ft. shark visited him– likely, a great white. Just as the shark approached, a pod of 10 dolphins appeared and accompanied him on his journey, protecting him from a potential attack! Check out the video here!

While amazing, this is not that unusual. Dolphins have been known to assist people in a variety of perilous conditions. Dolphins’ sonar and ability to detect distress appear to give them a uniquely intuitive connection to humans and an altruistic nature. In fact, some call dolphins the "real" man's best friend!

In 1996, a crowd of visitors at Brookfield Zoo just outside of Chicago, looked on in horror as they saw a toddler tumble more than 15 feet into a habitat, landing near seven gorillas. But, as zoo patrons cried out for help for the 3-year-old boy lying on the concrete below, an unlikely hero emerged.

Binti-Jua, a western lowland gorilla, grabbed the boy, cradled him in her arms, carried him to a doorway and laid him gingerly at the feet of waiting paramedics. The female gorilla appeared to act out of pure compassion for the injured boy.

Binti-Jua means "daughter of sunlight" in Swahili. As an infant, she had little mothering. Born in the Columbus Zoo in Ohio in March 1988, officials said her mother treated her with indifference. Humans had to hand feed Binti with a bottle. Raised by humans, she paid it all back that heroic day by saving the little boy. Binti-Jua was rewarded by the public and received not only high accolades but also gift baskets of fruit. You can watch Binti-Jua protect her new friend here.

Binti-Jua is not the only known gorilla hero. In 1986, a silverback gorilla named Jambo rescued five-year-old Levan Merritt, who fell 12 feet into a gorilla enclosure at Jersey Zoo in the United Kingdom. After the fall, the gorillas living in the enclosure began to circle the unconscious child. Jumbo placed himself between the boy and the other gorillas as if to say “don’t touch”! Jambo stood guard by the boy, rubbing his back as if to soothe him. Watch the incredible footage!

Back to our beautiful and charming friend, the beluga whale. Freediver Tang Yun was competing at Polarland Aquarium in Harbin, China, when she suddenly felt paralyzed in her legs and sunk to the bottom of the cold arctic pool. "I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me – I was dead," Yun said.

Enter Mila, the beluga! Mila spotted Yun and guided her to safety by placing Yun's leg in her mouth and pushing her to the surface. “I felt this incredible force under me," Yun said. An organizer of the event credited Mila with saving Yun's life: "She's a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her life to Mila."

In the early 1970s, Yvonne Vladislavich was traveling on a boat off the coast of Mozambique when the boat’s engine stopped working. The boat remained adrift until it was sunk by a wave.

Yvonne was a very good swimmer and decided to try to swim to shore. However, some sharks had other plans for her. Six sharks started circling her and kept coming closer…until heroic dolphins arrived. The dolphins kept the sharks away and followed Yvonne as she drifted 25 miles to a buoy.

Yvonne said that she is sure she would have drowned if she hadn’t received assistance from the dolphins. She frequently got tired during the journey and would have gone under if the dolphins hadn’t kept her above the water. She was the only survivor of the four people on the boat.

And in the most dramatic fashion, Rheal Guindon is very lucky to be alive... On a camping trip with his parents in Canada, he remained on shore while his parents fished from a nearby boat. The boat overturned and sadly, his parents drowned in front of him. He attempted to walk to town, but as it grew dark, he dropped to the cold ground and began crying. He felt something furry press against him as he fell asleep. The next morning, he discovered three beavers snuggling him. Had it not been for them, he would have frozen to death in the sub-zero temperatures that night.

These incredible stories illustrate how little we really know about animals and their capacity to understand when a fellow being is in need. We may be more alike than we are different!