These People Fought Wild Animals And Lived To Tell About It

 

1. Man And Beast

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We know the biblical story of Daniel in the lion's den. He used his peepee to ward off the snarling beasts. But what about real life stories of human triumph over the lower creatures? There's no shortage of stories exciting, human-bestial brawls and brouhahas. Question is: Are you willing to look into the jaws?  

2. Carl Akeley Choked A Kitty Cat

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Carl Akeley was a multi-hyphenate: he was a taxidermist, naturalist, conservationist, and all-around badass. He also had a thing against leopards, which he deemed the lowest of the creatures. While on safari in Africa, he shot and failed to kill one of the spotted kitties, and it lunged at him. The cat meant to kill the man, but he stuck his hand down its gullet and asphyxiated it from the inside. This picture was taken after Akeley retrieved his hand.    

3. The Moyers And The Bear

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It was early one morning when a black bear had followed the Moyers' dog into their home. Richard Moyer came down (at 3AM) as was his routine, and found the feral beast chilling in the living room. Moyer acted quick, and leapt at the bear, which then became much more aggressive. It started hitting and mauling at Moyer — before it went out onto the porch and popped a squat. 

4. One Man, One Cougar

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Who knew Canadians could be so vicious?! At the time David Parker was a 61-year-old guy minding his own business walking down an industrial road in a Vancouver Island village. He was jumped from behind by a cougar weighing 100 pounds. Parker leapt into action, whipped out his three-inch pocket knife, and went to town.  

5. Jumping (Into) The Shark

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Yes, that is Eric Nerhus 3/4s of the way inside a great white shark. At the time he was 41. So what happened is he was diving off Australia for a certain type of shellfish that's popular in Asia. The shark came up, and nearly swallowed him whole. Thanks to the lead vest he was wearing, Eric didn't suffer all the damage he could have. First he bashed the shark a few times around the head. Then he fished around for the creature's eye, and stuck a chisel into it. That released him. He was one lucky puppy. 

6. With His Bear Hands

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Back in 1999, when Gene Moe was a spring chicken in his 70s, he was hunting out in Alaska when a 750 pound female grizzly bear fell upon him! His rifle was away from his hand, and the only other weapon on his person was a buck knife. So he whipped that out and, while also assuming a boxer's stance, went Rambo on the bear. The bear took a chunk out of Moe's arm, and Moe socked the bear a few clocks. Then he stabbed her a couple times. This got the bear pretty angry — so she charged at him. Moe cocked his hand, and socked the bear right below the eye. And killed her. Dead. 

7. Fey And The Elephant

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Mike Fey is an explorer who, in 2003, was, along with his fellow explorers, attacked by a female elephant in Loanga National Park, Gabon. She was protecting her young, and gored Fey with her tusks. Thankfully, he was experienced in wrastling with wild animals. He grabbed hold of the tusks, used them as leverage, and rode the beast until he felt he was safe.  

8. Oy, Roy!

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Roy Horn, of Siegfried and Roy fame, was mauled by his own pet white tiger in October of 2003. It was his birthday no less! The tiger was a seven-year-old male named Montecore, raised in captivity, and showed no inclination to hostility. After a show, Roy was playing with the beast went it started to maul him. Before Horn passed out, he requested that the creature not be put down. And his request was granted. 

9. In The Jungle

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Daniel Radcliffe portrayed Yossi Ghinsberg in the thriller Jungle, which documented the latter's survival in the jungle for 19 days after getting separated from his group. Among other acts of bravery in the face of fearful nature, Yossi had to fend off a tiger by setting fire to his insect repellant spray. He used it like a flamethrower. FIRE! 

10. Later Gator

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Yet another reason not to go to Florida. In 1997 James Morrow was down there near Jacksonville snorkeling when a gator got hold of him tight. The gator got him down into its maw, and Morrow joked that he thought he touched its taste buds. The gator spit him back out, but not before inflicting on him some terrible injuries. However, his mask received most of the damage, and was shortly in stable condition.   

11. Ice Cold

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Kootoo Shaw was a hunting guide who was leading a group of hunters on an expedition. Three days into the hunt, Shaw was attacked by a polar bear in his tent. The bear had his claws under Shaw's neck for a while before putting them away and proceeding to jump onto the man. Shaw suffered pretty exquisite damage before the hunters shot the polar bear dead. 

12. Andy And The Lion

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Andy Peterson was hiking in a state park outside Denver when he saw a mountain lion peer out from behind a tree. The mountain lion was soon on top of him, clawing his chest in. Peterson whipped out his utility blade, and started stabbing at the lion. When the cat didn't relent, Peterson went for the cat's eye, and gouged it out to the bone. Then he impaled his knife on the cat's head, and it fled. Peterson ran, and was eventually dragged to safety by two women hikers. 

13. Getting Away Without Murder

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Joel Ngwenya, a Zimbabwean farmer, was pounced on by a lion and came very close to death. Luckily, the lion wanted to check on her cubs before dealing a final blow to the man, and leapt off him. Ngwenya was able to make his escape before the lioness came back for more, and he was left with only a minor scratch on his hand. Lucky lucky. 

14. One Bad Mother

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Hugh Glass was a 19th century fur trapper, who was also quite the rugged mother. It was 1823, and Glass got between a grizzly and her cubs — and was mauled on account of it. His leg was broken, his ribs were exposed, he was nearly done in. When his trapping partners found him, they started digging him a grave. The burial was interrupted by a Native American attack, and the able-bodied trappers fled, abandoning Glass. But Glass was resilient. He woke up, and crawled 200 miles to the nearest American settlement.

 Looks like beasts aren't always non-human.