Rescue Facts

In 1965, a four-year-old nearly drowned at a beach, but was rescued by a woman named Alice Blaise. 9 years later, that boy saved a man at the same beach. That man was Alice's husband.

In 2005, a 12-year-old Ethiopian girl was kidnapped by seven men who intended to force her into marriage. When police and relatives found her a week later, three lions were standing guard around her. The kidnappers were gone. A wildlife expert said the girl's crying may have sounded like a mewing lion cub, which could explain why they protected her instead of attacking. The lions turned and walked back into the forest as the humans approached.

Elephants are among the most emotional creatures in the world - they have even been known to rescue other animals, such as trapped dogs.

During the Gobi Desert ultramarathon, a stray dog ran over 77 miles alongside British runner Dion Leonard. After the race, she went missing, but with 20 volunteers and a two-week search, Dion found her and now happily lives with him in Edinburgh.

In 1996, a 3-year-old boy climbed a barrier at Brookfield Zoo and fell 24 feet into the gorilla enclosure. He was unconscious. An 8-year-old gorilla named Binti Jua picked him up, cradled him against her body, and carried him to the enclosure door where keepers could reach him. Her own 17-month-old baby, Koola, clung to her back the entire time. The boy spent four days in hospital and made a full recovery. Binti Jua is still alive at Brookfield Zoo — now a grandmother.

Five train cars passed over Wesley Autrey while he shielded a stranger on the subway tracks. His two daughters, ages 4 and 6, watched from the platform. From under the train he shouted: "Let my daughters know their father's okay."

Two boys were caught in a riptide off Panama City Beach, Florida. Nine family members swam out to help and got trapped too. A couple on the beach remembered how ants link their bodies to rescue their young. They started grabbing strangers' hands. 80 people formed a human chain into the Gulf of Mexico and held it for over an hour. Everyone survived.