Animal Heroes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Killian the dog

Like any new parents, Hope and Benjamin Jordan of Charleston, South Carolina, USA, were very careful in their search for a babysitter for their seven-month-old son, Finn. After doing a background check, they selected 22-year-old Alexis Khan, thinking they had found a kind and responsible person to care for their son whilst they were at work.

After five months, they started to notice that their normally mild-mannered Labrador/German Shepherd mix, Killian, was starting to become aggressive toward Ms Khan. Finding they could no longer ignore the dog's unusual behaviour and wondering if maybe Ms Khan had been shouting at Killian, the Jordans hid an iPhone under their couch one morning before leaving for work, and were shocked when they discovered Ms Khan was, in fact, being violent towards their son.

Khan was arrested, charged with child abuse and sentenced to a maximum three years in prison. The Jordans believe that if it weren't for Killian, Finn may have died.

Answer: Tara the cat

On May 13th, 2014, Jeremy Triantafilo, aged 4, was riding his bicycle in the driveway on his family's home in Bakersfield, California, USA, when a neighbourhood dog attacked him. His loyal cat, Tara, raced to the rescue, jumping on the dog and chasing it away. The whole thing was captured on the family's security camera. As a result of the attack, Jeremy required ten stitches in his left leg.

In recognition of her act of heroism, Tara received a number of awards, including the Blue Tiger Award, usually only given to military service dogs. June 3rd has also been named "Tara the Hero Cat Day".

And the dog? It was surrendered by its owners and eventually euthanized.

Answer: Kerry Gold the horse

Scottish rancher Fiona Boyd was attending to a distressed calf when she was attacked by the calf's enraged mother. Fiona was in danger of being trampled to death when an unlikely hero in the form of her horse, Kerry Gold, came to the rescue. The horse got between Fiona and the cow, kicking at it and forcing the cow to move away.

Answer: Lulu the pig

When her owner's mother, JoAnn Altsman, suffered a heart attack, Lulu, the pot-bellied pig, seemed to sense that her friend needed help. She ran out into the street and lay down in the middle of the road. When no-one stopped, Lulu returned to check on JoAnn, but continued to run into the street. Finally, someone noticed there was a problem and followed Lulu back to the house where they found JoAnn in pain on the ground. An ambulance was called and she was rushed to hospital but, thankfully, survived. Lulu later received the ASPCA's Trooper Award for bravery.

Answer: Ning-Nong the Asian elephant

In December 2004, Amber Mason, then aged 8, from Milton Keynes, UK, was holiday with her family in Phuket, Thailand. On the morning of December 26th, Amber was on the beach with her new friend, a four-year-old Asian Elephant called Ning-Nong. Ning-Nong's owner was collecting stranded fish from the beach for food when the elephant sensed danger and took off running inland, with Amber on his back. Minutes later, a massive tsunami hit the beach. Ning-Nong braced himself against the wave, saving Amber's life.

Answer: Willie the Quaker parrot

In November 2008, Megan Howard was babysitting her friend's two-year-old daughter, Hannah. She'd just prepared breakfast for the little girl and was in the bathroom when Willie, her Quaker parrot, started screeching loudly and repeating the words "Mama, baby!" over and over.

When Megan went to see what was wrong, she found Hannah choking and turning blue. Fortunately, Megan was able to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre, saving Hannah's life. Willie later received the Animal Lifesaver Award.

Answer: Jambo the gorilla

On August 31st, 1986, Levan Merritt, then aged five, from Horsham, West Sussex, UK, was visiting a zoo on the Channel Islands when he fell six metres into the Gorilla enclosure. As Levan lay unconscious on the concrete, Jambo, the massive seven-foot-tall Silverback, stood guard over him, protecting from the other Gorillas. Jambo was incredibly gentle, occasionally stroking Levan's back until the child regained consciousness, then leading the other Gorillas away, so ambulance workers could get Levan out of the enclosure and off to hospital where he made a full recovery.

Answer: Mila the beluga whale

26-year-old Yang Yun was competing in a free-diving competition at the Polar Land Aquarium in Harbin, China, with the possibility of landing a job training the Aquarium's beluga whales. As she tried to surface, she discovered her legs were crippled with cramps from the freezing water and she began to drown.

At that point, one of the belugas, Mila, swam over, grabbed Yun's leg in her mouth and pushed her to the surface.

Answer: Winnie the cat

In the early hours of March 14th, 2007, Cathy Keesling of New Castle, Indiana, USA, was asleep, when her 14-year-old cat, Winnie, jumped on the bed, meowing loudly and pawing at her face. When Cathy woke and tried to sit up, she found herself feeling very dizzy and nauseous. She called for an ambulance but was barely able to speak.

When paramedics arrived, they found Cathy's husband, Eric, and their son, Michael, unconscious. The family were taken to hospital where they were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. It was later found that a petrol-powered water pump had caused a build-up in the odourless and deadly gas.

Answer: Mandy the goat

In 2002, Australian farmer Noel Osborne fell and broke his hip while working on his farm. For five days, his goat, Mandy, stayed by his side, keeping him warm during the cold nights and providing him with milk. Eventually, Noel was discovered by two friends who'd come to pick up another goat. He was taken to hospital where he made a full recovery.