When danger strikes, sometimes even the unlikeliest hero steps up. These are stories that may inspire you to do some good, or give you that extra bit of courage to take matters into your own hands when things go to shit. So get some tissues for your tears, and let's remember those that went the extra mile for their fellow man.
Five-year-old saves baby from hot car ... dressed as Batman
![Unlikely Heroes]()
On July 14, young Zavi Achmed discovered a baby locked in a smoldering car. The baby's grandparents were shopping. When the cops were called, they broke the window but no cops were small enough to fit through without cutting themselves on the glass. Zavi came to the rescue.
He offered to slip through the window himself. Once he squeezed through, he opened the car from the inside and freed the little girl, living up to his Batman costume. When his mother asked what it was like to be a real-life superhero, Zavi said, "Super duper good!"
Stray dog rescues abandoned baby in Kenya
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Apparently heroes come in all shapes, sizes and species. In 2005 a nursing dog stumbled upon an abandoned baby girl in a suburb of Nairobi. She was crying in a dumpster, and sensing something was amiss, the dog, whose name is Angel, carried the infant across a busy road and through a barb-wired fence. A local found the baby in a litter of Angel's puppies.
"I saw my dog, which I have had for five years, lying protectively with her puppy besides the soiled baby lying in a torn black cloth. I held the baby in my arms and carried it into the house."
Maggots were inside her umbilical cord. She'd been in the trash for two days. Soon doctors had her in stable condition, and the community praised Angel for her humanlike heroism.
Tabby cat saves baby in Russia
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Temperatures were below zero in Obninsk when a mother cat found an abandoned baby in a box. Her instincts took over, and went inside to keep the infant warm. A passerby heard loud meows and went to investigate, only to find a cat cuddling with a baby, licking his face.
"The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha ... he was not damaged by the experience," a hospital spokesperson said. Masha, the cat, kept the baby warm enough to survive the blistering cold. She is hailed as a hero and now lives the life of a famous feline.
Beluga whale pulls paralyzed diver to the surface
![Unlikely Heroes]()
"I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me. I was dead."
Those were the words of Yang Yun, and 26-year-old free diver who was participating in a breath-holding contest. When Yun was nearly out of breath, she found her legs immobilized by the freezing water. "Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface." A beluga whale put Yun in her mouth and dragged her to air, saving her life.
Newfoundland dog saves 92 sailors from imminent death
![Unlikely Heroes]()
In 1919, a ship was capsized and 93 sailors were stranded on a rocky atoll amid stormy seas. A Newfoundland named Tang went to the rescue. One of the sailors was already swept out to sea when Tang took a rope and swam to land, which the surviving sailors used to pull themselves to safety.
(Since Newfies were primarily used as ship dogs, with their webbed feet and exceptional swimming abilities, one wonders how many lives these lovable black fur balls have rescued throughout history.)
Gorilla protects child who fell into zoo exhibit
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Nearly 20 years ago a toddler fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Onlookers were horrified, thinking the boy would be attacked by the jungle apes. Instead, a female gorilla by the name of Binti Jua carried the unconscious child to safety, caring for him and growling at other gorillas until zookeepers came.
Binti even carried the boy to personnel when they entered the ape pit. Even though the child fell 18 feet into the enclosure, he only suffered a broken hand and a gash to the face. Here's video of the incident.
Homeless man saves six-year-old autistic boy
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Last September, Sergio Zepeda went missing from his family's home in San Jose, CA. His parents contacted the police and a search ensued for 17 hours until he was discovered at a homeless encampment four miles away.
Jose Salmeron, a resident of the camp, woke up to find a naked, shivering boy at 4AM. He put a blanket around him and gave him food and water. "I popped out of my tent and saw a naked person. At first I thought it was an alien, like ET," Salmeron said.
"It was a happy ending," a police officer said, and the young boy was reunited with his parents. Happy ending indeed.
Pit bull rescues deaf boy from fire
![Unlikely Heroes]()
A stereotypically dumb dog named Ace rescued a 13-year-old boy from a house fire. Nick Lamb was sleeping without his hearing aids and couldn't hear the alarms. His beloved pup knew something was wrong, and came into his room and began licking his face, waking him up. Lamb and his pit bull escaped through the backdoor just in time.
Bangladeshi man cuts off limbs and saves 34 People in collapsed building
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Didar Hossain was a humble garment factory worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That was until the building collapsed and hundreds of lives were lost.
"As a human being, I felt it was my duty to try and help other human beings. When I first went in I saw a dead body and I was frightened. But I gathered up my courage as I went on."
Hossain rescued 34 people from the crumbled factory. He encountered victims who had limbs trapped under heavy concrete, and when a local doctor was too afraid to do so, he took a knife and amputated an arm and a leg to free two souls.
"I have a lot of memories, particularly about the hand and foot being amputated. And the dead bodies - they haunt me."
Nine-year-old dies trying to save family from fire
![Unlikely Heroes]()
Tyler Doohan noticed a trailer fire and alerted the authorities in January of 2014. Instead of waiting he went in and rescued six people, including two young'uns aged four and six. One person was left to rescue - his disabled grandfather who couldn't move.
Firemen discovered his body lying next to his grandpa's bed. They said it looked like he was trying to lift his grandfather but was overcome by the smoke and fire.
Three people died, but six made it out, thanks to one boy's heroism.
Doohan was made an honorary firefighter during his funeral.
Five-year-old saves baby from hot car ... dressed as Batman
On July 14, young Zavi Achmed discovered a baby locked in a smoldering car. The baby's grandparents were shopping. When the cops were called, they broke the window but no cops were small enough to fit through without cutting themselves on the glass. Zavi came to the rescue.
He offered to slip through the window himself. Once he squeezed through, he opened the car from the inside and freed the little girl, living up to his Batman costume. When his mother asked what it was like to be a real-life superhero, Zavi said, "Super duper good!"
Stray dog rescues abandoned baby in Kenya
Apparently heroes come in all shapes, sizes and species. In 2005 a nursing dog stumbled upon an abandoned baby girl in a suburb of Nairobi. She was crying in a dumpster, and sensing something was amiss, the dog, whose name is Angel, carried the infant across a busy road and through a barb-wired fence. A local found the baby in a litter of Angel's puppies.
"I saw my dog, which I have had for five years, lying protectively with her puppy besides the soiled baby lying in a torn black cloth. I held the baby in my arms and carried it into the house."
Maggots were inside her umbilical cord. She'd been in the trash for two days. Soon doctors had her in stable condition, and the community praised Angel for her humanlike heroism.
Tabby cat saves baby in Russia
Temperatures were below zero in Obninsk when a mother cat found an abandoned baby in a box. Her instincts took over, and went inside to keep the infant warm. A passerby heard loud meows and went to investigate, only to find a cat cuddling with a baby, licking his face.
"The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha ... he was not damaged by the experience," a hospital spokesperson said. Masha, the cat, kept the baby warm enough to survive the blistering cold. She is hailed as a hero and now lives the life of a famous feline.
Beluga whale pulls paralyzed diver to the surface
"I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me. I was dead."
Those were the words of Yang Yun, and 26-year-old free diver who was participating in a breath-holding contest. When Yun was nearly out of breath, she found her legs immobilized by the freezing water. "Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface." A beluga whale put Yun in her mouth and dragged her to air, saving her life.
Newfoundland dog saves 92 sailors from imminent death
In 1919, a ship was capsized and 93 sailors were stranded on a rocky atoll amid stormy seas. A Newfoundland named Tang went to the rescue. One of the sailors was already swept out to sea when Tang took a rope and swam to land, which the surviving sailors used to pull themselves to safety.
(Since Newfies were primarily used as ship dogs, with their webbed feet and exceptional swimming abilities, one wonders how many lives these lovable black fur balls have rescued throughout history.)
Gorilla protects child who fell into zoo exhibit
Nearly 20 years ago a toddler fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Onlookers were horrified, thinking the boy would be attacked by the jungle apes. Instead, a female gorilla by the name of Binti Jua carried the unconscious child to safety, caring for him and growling at other gorillas until zookeepers came.
Binti even carried the boy to personnel when they entered the ape pit. Even though the child fell 18 feet into the enclosure, he only suffered a broken hand and a gash to the face. Here's video of the incident.
Homeless man saves six-year-old autistic boy
Last September, Sergio Zepeda went missing from his family's home in San Jose, CA. His parents contacted the police and a search ensued for 17 hours until he was discovered at a homeless encampment four miles away.
Jose Salmeron, a resident of the camp, woke up to find a naked, shivering boy at 4AM. He put a blanket around him and gave him food and water. "I popped out of my tent and saw a naked person. At first I thought it was an alien, like ET," Salmeron said.
"It was a happy ending," a police officer said, and the young boy was reunited with his parents. Happy ending indeed.
Pit bull rescues deaf boy from fire
A stereotypically dumb dog named Ace rescued a 13-year-old boy from a house fire. Nick Lamb was sleeping without his hearing aids and couldn't hear the alarms. His beloved pup knew something was wrong, and came into his room and began licking his face, waking him up. Lamb and his pit bull escaped through the backdoor just in time.
Bangladeshi man cuts off limbs and saves 34 People in collapsed building
Didar Hossain was a humble garment factory worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That was until the building collapsed and hundreds of lives were lost.
"As a human being, I felt it was my duty to try and help other human beings. When I first went in I saw a dead body and I was frightened. But I gathered up my courage as I went on."
Hossain rescued 34 people from the crumbled factory. He encountered victims who had limbs trapped under heavy concrete, and when a local doctor was too afraid to do so, he took a knife and amputated an arm and a leg to free two souls.
"I have a lot of memories, particularly about the hand and foot being amputated. And the dead bodies - they haunt me."
Nine-year-old dies trying to save family from fire
Tyler Doohan noticed a trailer fire and alerted the authorities in January of 2014. Instead of waiting he went in and rescued six people, including two young'uns aged four and six. One person was left to rescue - his disabled grandfather who couldn't move.
Firemen discovered his body lying next to his grandpa's bed. They said it looked like he was trying to lift his grandfather but was overcome by the smoke and fire.
Three people died, but six made it out, thanks to one boy's heroism.
Doohan was made an honorary firefighter during his funeral.
