Animal Rescue Stories

From the unbelievable chaos of the Tsunami
disaster comes an incredible tale from Jim France of the Pavilion Hotel Group in Bangkok. At a resort on Phuket, one of the most popular attractions is (was)              
elephant rides. As many as eight people on one elephant, first into the                                
surrounding forest, then down to the beach, to lunch at a fresh water
lagoon, then back to the hotel. The elephants (nine) were kept chained to in-                                          
ground posts, not because they needed to be, but because it made the mothers
feel better because their children seemed safe from a tromping when feeding
the beasts. About twenty minutes before the first wave hit, the elephants
became extremely agitated and unruly. Four had just returned from a trip and
their handler's had not yet chained them. They helped the other five tear
free from their chains. They all then climbed a hill and started bellowing.

Many people followed them up the hill. Then the waves hit. After the waves
subsided, the elephants charged down from the hill, and started picking up
children with their trunks and running them back up the hill; when all the
children were taken care of, they started helping the adults. They rescued
forty- two people. Then, they returned to the beach and carried up four dead
bodies, one of a child. Not until the task was done would they allow their
handler's to mount them. Then with handlers atop, they began moving
wreckage. Many Super-Human and Super-Sentient capacities were being
exhibited though these Wonderful Elephant Beings including Divine Love for
one another and their fellow humans through the transitions they were going
through.
 

Special thanks to club member Catherine Ashley for forwarding

this story to Katie!  :)

 

 

 

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A group of swimmers has told how a pod of dolphins protected them from a

great white shark off New Zealand's coast.

 

 

 

 

The lifeguards were training at a beach near Whangarei on the North Island when they were menaced by a 3-metre shark, before the dolphins raced in to help.

The swimmers were surrounded by the dolphins for 40 minutes before they were able to make it safely back to the beach.

Marine biologists say such altruistic behavior is not uncommon in dolphins.

Lifeguard Rob Howes was in the water with two colleagues and his teenage daughter.

It was an uncomfortable experience, as they were circled by a great white shark, which came within a couple of meters.

He said around half a dozen dolphins suddenly appeared and herded the swimmers together. The mammals swam in tight circles to create a defensive barrier as the great white lurked under the surface.

The swimmers said the dolphins were extremely agitated and repeatedly slapped the water with their tails, presumably to try to deter the predator as it cruised nearby.

The drama happened in New Zealand three weeks ago, but only now are the lifeguards telling their story.

It is a day they will never forget, especially for one of the swimmers, who was on her first day as a volunteer.

They have no doubt that the dolphins acted deliberately to protect them.

Researchers have said they are not surprised. A marine biologist insisted that dolphins, which are considered to be one of the most intelligent mammals, "like to help the helpless".
 

Special thanks to club advisor Dr. Segal for sending this story to Katie!  :)

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Anon. Story Online:   

 

 

Journal of Commerce reported in 1997 that a man swimming in the Red Sea, off the Egyptian shore, was attacked by a shark. After he suffered bites to his side and arm, he was surrounded by three bottle-nosed dolphins "flapping their fins and tails to scare away the shark." The dolphins continued to circle the British swimmer until his friends got him. According to the Journal, "such behavior by dolphins is common when mothers are protecting their calves." It is no wonder then why these friendly creatures of the sea are so overwhelmingly popular and how this popularity fuels concern for their future.

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At Brookfield Zoo on the afternoon of August 16, 1996, visitors crowded around the popular Western Lowland Gorilla exhibit watched in horror as an unattended, three-year-old child climbed over a protective barrier and tumbled 20 feet to the bottom of the gorillas' exhibit. Lying unconscious, the child was pick up by a female gorilla named Binti Jua, who also cradled her own infant, Koola. Videotape and photographs capturing the accident show Binti Jua shielding the boy from the other curious gorillas in the enclosure and cradling him protectively, then gently carrying him to the brought him to the zookeeper’s door, where she left him so he could be rescued.

Above: Binti Jua ("daughter of sunshine" in Swahili)

with her baby, Koola

Video Footage of Binti Jua cradling the little boy:

http://199.249.170.190/shootonline/thisweekonline/display(online_columns).jsp?vnu_content_id=1000534707#

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For more incredible animal stories, check out this link:

http://www.all-creatures.org/animal.html

 

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