All language subtitles for The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd s03e16 Unlikely Heroes.eng

[Dan narating on screen text]

[mysterious music]

- What if I told you

the fate of an entire
World War I army battalion

rested on the wings of
an unexpected warrior?

- They take this last carrier
pigeon and send Cher Ami off.

- The Germans immediately
fire on this bird.

[guns blasting]

- He's bloody, he's battered,

and its leg is now
hanging on by a thread.

- Or there once lived a
pig with a heart of gold

and a strange superpower.

- Lulu waddles up to Jo Ann

and realizes her
human needs help.

- So Lulu employs the one trick

that she's got up her sleeve.

- How about some very
unconventional lifesavers?

- They're locked out, and
baby Dallas is inside.

[baby crying]

- The baby is crying
harder and harder.

[baby crying]

- [J. Mack] Nearby, there
are a bunch of convicts

doing road work.

- The parents were thinking
it's going from bad to worse,

'cause now, one of the prisoners

starts moving quickly
towards the car.

- These are the stories
of heroes so unlikely,

they are truly unbelievable.

[lively dramatic music]

In the chaos of World War
I, when all seems lost,

one unlikely hero steps
up, defying the odds

and charging
headfirst into danger

to prove that even the
smallest of creatures

can carry the
weight of a nation.

[tense dramatic music]

- It's late 1918 in
the Argonne Forest.

The United States military,

with French allies
and Siamese allies,

have launched the
Meuse-Argonne offensive,

[gun blasts]

the largest ground
defensive operation

in which the American military
has ever participated.

[heavy artillery booming]

- At this point,
the Allied soldiers,

totaling 1.2 million troops,

move in to try to
push the Germans back.

- The Germans have held
this forest for four years,

and the Allies know that
they're not gonna get this back

without a serious fight.

[heavy artillery booming]

- On October 2nd, thousands
of troops are sent forward

to attack the Germans.

[explosion blasts]

Among them are 554 men

of the American 77th
Infantry Division.

Leading them is Major
Charles Whittlesey.

- As Whittlesey leads
his troops forward

through the dense forest,

they suddenly get separated
from other Allied forces.

- And before long, they find
themselves behind German lines

and surrounded on all sides.

[explosion blasts]

- [Dan] Things quickly
go from bad to worse

when they're detected
by the enemy.

- So once they're spotted,

the Germans start throwing
grenades in at them

and shooting
flamethrowers at them.

[rousing dramatic music]

But then they also
have friendly fire

coming from other Allied forces

that are trying to shoot
those German soldiers.

[cannon booms]

- [Yohuru] Because radio is
in its infancy and quite

unreliable, there's no way for
them to radio back to command

to let them know their location.

- [Dan] Out of options
and under pressure,

the military turns

to a different kind of
communication strategy.

[birds flapping]

- [Rutledge] So 600 carrier
pigeons were drafted

and trained in the US

before they were sent over
to be used in the war.

The carrier pigeon's
job is to aid

in battlefield communications.

- Pigeons are fairly
low-maintenance.

They don't need to be fed much.

They're great at remembering
physical landmarks

and successful at
delivering a message

from point A to point B.

- And because they're
really fast flyers,

they can deliver a
message much faster

than anybody on a motorbike
or on a horse, or on foot.

- [Dan] Luckily, on
this particular mission,

the Lost Battalion have with
them eight carrier pigeons.

[tense uneasy music]

- [Edward] Whittlesey and his
men scrawl short notes on paper

and roll them up and
put them in canisters,

which they attach to
the pigeons' ankles.

- [Martin] The pigeons are then
one after the other released,

hoping that they will make
it back to their roost

and pass on the message

about the location of
the Lost Battalion.

[birds flapping]

- Unfortunately, the
Germans know that the Allies

are using carrier
pigeons to communicate,

and they've trained
sharpshooters to take them down.

- And so one after the other,
they release seven pigeons

that are brought
down by German fire.

[guns blasting]

This is to the great frustration
of Whittlesey and his men,

who are isolated, surrounded,

and under constant enemy
and friendly artillery fire.

- [Dan] Now all hope rests
on the one carrier pigeon

the Americans have left.

His name is Cher Ami, which
means "dear friend" in French.

[tense dramatic music]

- [Rutledge] So they take this
last carrier pigeon, Cher Ami,

and they write a note.

It's got their position,
the Germans' position,

and a note that says,
"Please, for God's sake,

stop firing on us."

And then they send Cher Ami off.

[bird flapping]

- Almost as soon as he takes
off, the Germans spot him,

and they immediately fire on
this bird, and they hit him.

[gun blasting]

- Cher Ami's been shot in the
breast, lost his right eye,

and his leg, where the message
canister is being held,

is almost completely severed

and is now hanging
on by a thread.

- [Martin] Everyone's hopes
are completely dashed by it

because now they know,
"We can't communicate.

We're just gonna sit here until
the enemy either overruns us

or our own artillery kills us."

- [Dan] The soldiers'
future seems dim,

but Cher Ami is one
tough little pigeon.

- Somehow, he musters
the energy to fly again.

- He's bloody, he's battered.

His leg is hanging
on by a thread,

yet he still perseveres through
25 miles of enemy territory

to successfully
deliver the message.

- Three days later,
thanks to Cher Ami,

200 men from the Lost
Battalion are rescued.

Now, Cher Ami was
given a prosthetic leg

and sent home to the States,

where it was given
a hero's welcome.

- He's awarded the
coveted oak leaf medal

for having delivered the message

that saved the Lost Battalion.

And after his death,
he was stuffed

and maintained at the post
library at Fort Monmouth.

- [Dan] Cher Ami's bravery
is a testament to the belief

that there is no such thing
as an impossible mission.

But he's far from the first
lifesaving little soldier.

[dramatic orchestral music]
[soldiers yelling]

- [Mitch] It is May of 1861.

Abe Lincoln calls for
volunteers to fight

in the War of the States
against the Confederacy.

- And men all over the North
wanna be part of this effort,

but there are also
younger people

that try to get involved
in the war cause.

- There are no age limits to
join the Confederate Army,

but the Union Army requires
fighting men to be at least 18

and musicians bearing fife
and drum to be at least 16.

[light thoughtful music]

- [Holly] In Newark, Ohio,
little Johnny Clem is nine years

old, and he only stands
about four feet tall,

but he really, really wants
to be part of the war effort.

- What he lacks in size, Johnny
makes up for in gumption.

He walks right over to
the 3rd Ohio Regiment,

tries to enlist,

and is told, "Son, we are
not enlisting infants."

- [Dan] But little Johnny Clem
won't take no for an answer.

- Next, Johnny tries to enlist

with the 22nd Michigan Regiment,

and they won't let him fight.

But they do say that
they can take him on,

kind of unofficially,
as their drummer boy.

And he takes that deal.

So he kind of becomes
the regiment's mascot.

[tense dramatic music]
[soldiers yelling]

- [Martin] But then in September
of 1863, the regiment is sent

to the border of the state
of Tennessee and Georgia,

where it will participate in
the Battle of Chickamauga,

one of the bloodiest engagements
of the entire Civil War,

second only to Gettysburg
in terms of casualties.

[dramatic orchestral music]
[guns blasting]

- The Confederacy breaks
through the Union line,

and there are so many losses

that the 22nd is finally
put in a position

where they have no
choice but to ask Johnny

to actually step into
the role of a grown man.

- [Dan] Armed with only a musket

sawed off so he can carry it,

little Johnny Clem
surges into battle.

- He's continuing to fight for
one of the infantry companies

in the regiment, when he is
left behind when they withdraw.

Because of this, he
comes face-to-face

with a Confederate colonel.

[tense mysterious music]

- And the colonel
looks at Johnny,

little 12-year-old boy
with a sawed-off musket,

looked at him and
starts laughing.

And he tells him,
"Aren't you a bit young?

Why don't you put that down
and just run along home?"

- Rather than dropping
the weapon, though,

Johnny raises it, points it
directly at the colonel, pulls

the trigger, and hits him
in the middle of the chest.

After that, he drops it

and runs back to
return to the company.

- And he makes it back
to his unit unscathed.

But a lot of men
are not this lucky.

Of the 455 men deployed
with the 22nd Michigan,

389 are captured, wounded,
or killed in battle.

- [Dan] Despite these heavy
losses, Johnny presses on,

proving he's not just
lucky; he's relentless.

[tense dramatic music]

- Turns out little Johnny
has got a flair for fighting.

[gun blasts]

The tween hero sees action
in places like Perryville,

Murfreesboro,
Kennesaw, and Atlanta,

where he's wounded twice.

- He actually turns
what people would think

was a disadvantage
into an advantage.

He uses his short stature

to basically sneak around
in these engagements.

He is the equivalent of a
ninja on these battlefields.

- Johnny earns the nickname
"Damn Little Yankee Devil"

by the Confederates

because he is a force
to be reckoned with.

Johnny does such a great job

that he actually earns
the rank of sergeant,

which is not a bad
rank to achieve

all by the tender age of 13.

[dramatic orchestral music]

- [Dan] The young fighter
commits his life to serving his

country and changes his name
to John Lincoln Clem

in honor of the man
who was president

when he first answered the call.

He retires in 1915
as a major general.

- Most retirees spend
their golden years golfing

or binge-watching the
latest crime dramas.

But one man's peaceful life
takes an unexpected turn

when he finds
himself face to face

with a threat that's
anything but ordinary.

[tense uneasy music]
[wind whistling]

- It is 5:00 a.m.,

and 69-year-old William Ayotte
is awakened from his slumber

by some really weird
sounds coming from outside.

- As he peers through his
curtains in the predawn light,

he can actually make
out a horrifying scene.

- Just 40 feet away
from his front steps,

his neighbor, Erin, is
being mauled by a bear.

- [Dan] And not just any bear,

a big, white, hungry polar bear.

[bear growls]
[tense dramatic music]

- [Rutledge] Now, a polar bear
might look cute in pictures,

[bears growling]

but in person, these
things are eight feet tall,

up to 800 pounds
of apex predator

with claws that would just
shred right through you.

[bear growling]

- [Dr. Hakeem] The bear has Erin
in its jaws by her head,

and he's swinging her back
and forth like a rag doll.

William knows that she's not
gonna last long like this.

- But he's also kind of frozen

because he isn't really
prepared for an event like this.

He doesn't have
any ready weapons.

- [Rutledge] Now, William knows
this is a suicide mission,

but he tells himself,

"You're either gonna do
something or you're not."

- William grabs a snow
shovel, charges outside,

and stacks himself
up against the bear.

- He's kind of
waiting for his moment

'cause he knows the best
place to hit this animal

is in the eye.

- [Dr. Hakeem] When the animal
takes a look directly at him,

he swings that snow shovel
right into that bear's face.

[shovel thuds]
[bear growls]

And it's a direct hit,
right in the bear's eye.

- [Holly] This stuns the bear.

He actually drops Erin, who
is able to scramble to safety.

Now, William has become the
target of this animal's ire.

[bear growling]
[dramatic orchestral music]

- He starts mauling
William with his claws.

So William starts playing dead.

- But the bear, he's intent
on getting his lunch today,

and so he starts gnawing
on that man's ear,

just like Mike Tyson bit
Evander Holyfield's ear off.

[bell dinging]
[crowd cheering]

- William can feel
the hot breath

and the tongue inside his ear.

He can feel the polar
bear ripping his ear off.

[intense dramatic music]

- [Dan] Just in
the nick of time,

one of William's
neighbors rushes in

and revs his car engine to scare
the bear away.

- When the neighbors get to him,

he's pretty confident
that he's going to die.

- He asks his neighbors
to prop him up

so he can die with
dignity like a man,

rather than laying down on
his face like an animal.

- But that's not what they do.

They pick William up, put him
in the back of a pickup truck,

and drive him to the emergency
room of the nearest hospital.

- It takes surgeons four hours

to attach his ear and
staple him back up.

- In an interesting twist,
when he is recuperating,

William is actually put
in the room next to Erin's

while she is recuperating,

but it appears that
the two of them

never really talk about
the bear incident.

- [Dan] For his selfless act,

William earns the
Star of Courage,

one of the highest honors
of bravery in Canada.

The next tale: no
medals, no press,

just ghosts with
impeccable timing.

[tense mysterious music]

- [Nick] Captain Bob Loft
and flight engineer Don Repo

are at the helm of Eastern
Air Lines Flight 401 from

JFK to sunny Miami, Florida.

- [Mitch] They're
transporting 163 passengers

and 13 crew when a light
goes off in the cockpit,

telling them that
something is gravely wrong.

- [Nick] There's a malfunction
somewhere in the landing gear.

They don't panic; they
just engage the autopilot

while they try and
fix the problem.

[alarm beeping]
[suspenseful dramatic music]

- [Dr. Hakeem] Suddenly,
the autopilot turns off

and the plane starts
to descend rapidly.

And it's only after they hear
the scream from the passengers

do they rush back
to the cockpit.

- [Mitch] The ground
is fast approaching,

and no matter what they do,

the pilots cannot
course-correct in time.

[airplane engines roaring]

- [Dan] Flight 401 crashes
into the Florida Everglades,

[explosion blasts]

19 miles from Miami,
going 227 miles an hour.

[tense somber music]

- [Nick] 101 of the 176 people
on board are killed,

including Captain Bob Loft
and flight engineer Don Repo.

At the time, Flight 401

is the second-deadliest
air crash in US history.

- After investigations of
the crash were complete,

it was discovered
that Captain Loft

incidentally bumped
into the yoke,

which caused the
autopilot to disengage.

- [Dan] The crash was
no longer a mystery,

but what started happening
on other flights sure was.

- [Mitch] On subsequent
Eastern Airlines flights,

people report receiving
visits from the deceased crew.

These reports come
from passengers

and flight crew members alike.

- The two ghosts reported most
often, Bob Loft and Don Repo.

- [Dan] Don't worry,
they're not here to haunt.

They're here to help.

- [Nick] Prior to takeoff,
one pilot reports

the ghostly apparition of
Don Repo in the cockpit,

warning him of an impending
mechanical failure

relating to the autopilot.

- [Mitch] The pilot checks,
and they do in fact discover

a problem with the
autopilot function.

They fix it, and the flight
continues as planned.

[tense mysterious music]

- [Mitch] Another pilot reports
that while going through

incredible turbulence,

when the plane is
bucking like a bronco,

he suddenly gets this
very reassuring feeling.

- [Nick] The pilot manages
to land the aircraft safely,

and he credits this calm
feeling that descended over him

just when it was needed most.

And who does he give
the credit to for that?

Bob Loft.

- One flight attendant reported

having an extended
conversation with Don Repo

when he suddenly just vanished
right before her eyes.

- [Mitch] She is so unnerved
that she quits the field,

but later she is
able to recognize

Don Repo from a photograph.

- [Dan] What may be
more unbelievable

is that all of these sightings
have one thing in common.

- The strange sightings
only occur on aircraft

that were using the salvaged
parts from Flight 401.

[tense mysterious music]

- [Dr. Hakeem] Finally, Eastern
Airlines removes all the parts

from all the planes that
401 was incorporated in,

and at that point,
the sightings stop.

- Eastern Airlines ceases
operations in 1991.

Yet stories of the
heroic ghost pilots

of Flight 401 live on.

[dramatic orchestral music]

- Traditionally, parents
are meant to look after

and protect their children,

but when a tornado blows
through an Oklahoma town,

one heroic nine-year-old
flips the script.

[tense dramatic music]
[siren blaring]

- It's a Saturday in May 2024

in the small town
of Dixon, Oklahoma,

right in the middle of what
is known as Tornado Alley.

[intense dramatic music]

This particular day sees a
outbreak of many tornadoes,

and they're bad,
some as bad as F4.

[wind rumbling]

- The winds in a single F4
tornado are catastrophic,

strong enough to destroy
major steel structures

and uproot big trees.

- [Dan] Local residents
Linda and Wayne Baker

know they cannot stay home,

so they grab their
nine-year-old son, Branson,

and head for safety.

[ominous dramatic music]

- A family friend has a storm
cellar in nearby Marietta,

so that's where they're headed.

Parents are in the front seat,
and Branson is in the back.

- Through the windshield,
Wayne, Lindy, and Branson

can see several
tornadoes ahead of them.

They turn, but the
tornadoes turn with them,

and now they're barreling
right towards them.

- They start to hear the truck

actually be pelted with debris.

It sounds like glass shards
or pebbles are hitting them,

and Wayne floors it.

[car engine revving]

But the bottom line is you
cannot really outrun a tornado,

and soon this vehicle
is picked up like a toy.

[wind whistling]
[tense suspenseful music]

- They hear a massive boom,

[explosion booms]

and then all falls silent.

[sparse uneasy music]

- Lindy and Wayne are
trapped and badly hurt.

Lindy, who's in
the passenger seat,

she's even got a punctured lung.

Of course, they're still
concerned about Branson,

and they're calling out to him.

- [Dan] Miraculously,
Branson is okay.

- He's able to crawl
through the mangled truck

to reach his parents, and
he can see out the window

the predicament they're in.

[tense ominous music]

- Branson says to his
parents, "I'll be back.

Please don't die."

- [Dr. Hakeem] The kid is
scared out of his mind,

but somehow he musters
up the courage,

and he just takes off.

- [Holly] Branson
is running through

essentially a natural
disaster war zone.

There are downed power lines.

There's debris everywhere,

but he is absolutely focused
on getting some help.

[rousing dramatic music]

- [Dan] Branson runs a
mile in under 10 minutes,

finds a nearby neighbor,

and brings them back to
the mangled truck on foot.

- [Dr. Hakeem] When the
rescue crews get there,

thankfully, Lindy and
Wayne are still alive,

and they owe their survival
to their son, Branson.

- [Dan] But Branson's not
done saving the day yet.

Turns out he has one more
rescue mission in him.

- Wayne and Lindy are
taken to the hospital

and are given treatment, but
they're both contractors,

which means that they
can't work to earn money

while they're in the
hospital recovering.

- Branson persuades his
baseball team to hold an event,

and they raise over $10,000
to cover his parents' expenses

while they recuperate.

[bright thoughtful music]

- [Dan] At the charity game,

the small but mighty
Branson hits a home run

and dedicates it to his parents.

It's that kind of
undying devotion

that drives our next
improbable hero.

[bright lively music]

- For her 40th birthday, Jo
Ann Altman gifts her daughter

this adorable Vietnamese
pot-bellied piglet

named Lulu.

The mom thinks this is
gonna be a great gift,

but the daughter,

not so much.

- One weekend, she asks
her mom to babysit the pig

while she goes out of town,

and then she never comes back
to claim the pig. [chuckles]

[light thoughtful music]

- So Jo Ann and her
husband gladly take Lulu in

because, I mean, she's family.

- [Dan] Life with Lulu settles
into a comfortable rhythm

until a quiet getaway
in August 1998

takes an unexpected turn.

- The family's on vacation
at a lakefront trailer park.

Jo Ann rises early
to see her husband

go off to go
fishing for the day,

so she starts making
breakfast for herself

when all of a sudden, she starts

not feeling all that well.

[tense uneasy music]

- Jo Ann gets really dizzy

and ends up collapsing
to the floor.

She has this terrible
pain in her chest,

and it's obvious she's
having a heart attack.

- She can't move,
and the closest phone

that she has available to her
is in the trailer park office,

which is a few
hundred yards away.

[tense dramatic music]

- [Dan] As Jo Ann's thinking,
"I'm gonna die alone,"

Lulu the pig
springs into action.

- Lulu waddles up to
Jo Ann, sniffs her,

and realizes something is wrong.

Her human needs help.

- She needs human help.

So Lulu is trying to figure
out, "Well, where can I go

to find humans?"

And she figures out,
"I gotta get outside."

So Lulu looks at the door and
assesses the doggy door flap.

- Knowing Jo Ann's
life is at stake,

Lulu squeezes herself
through the doggy door,

and even though it's tight,
she struggles and gets out.

Gathering her courage,

she then walks out to
the middle of the road.

- And when she's out there,
Lulu employs the one trick

that she's got up her sleeve.

Lulu lays down and plays dead.

- [Dr. J Mack] Lulu's in
this dead piggy position,

but the cars, they don't stop.

They just slow down a
little bit, look at it,

wonder what's going
on, and keep going.

After no one stops

for what feels like
forever in pig minutes,

she ends up going back to Jo Ann

to check on her in the trailer.

- [Dan] For 45 minutes,

Lulu pushes herself through
the tiny dog door,

back and forth from the
trailer to the road,

desperate to find someone
who will stop and help.

- Lulu is just frantic,
doesn't know what to do.

She knows that Jo
Ann is getting worse,

and she's like, "I gotta
go out one last time

and find somebody."

- But this time, she
scrapes her potbelly

so bad on the doggy door
that it opens a wound,

and she starts to bleed.

- When Lulu sees a
pickup approaching,

she lays on the
ground and plays dead

right in front of
that moving vehicle.

She's bleeding from her
belly all over the asphalt.

Amazingly, the
bleeding is enough

to finally get this
driver to stop.

- [Sami] She springs up,

and she leads the guy
over back to the trailer.

All the while, the
man is screaming,

"I think there's something
wrong with your pig!

I think your pig
is in distress!"

- [Dr. J Mack] Still conscious,
Jo Ann calls back

that she's in huge trouble

and they need to get to
the trailer park phone

and call for help.

[siren wailing]

- Paramedics are able to arrive

and get Jo Ann to
a nearby hospital.

- Jo Ann has open-heart surgery,

and thankfully, she pulls
through with flying colors.

- Lulu is awarded the Tiffany
and Company Angel Medal

by the ASPCA and gets awarded
with all sorts of sweet treats

and jelly donuts.

[intense dramatic music]

- From unwanted piggy
to neighborhood hero,

her name should be spoken
along with all the greats:

Babe, Wilbur, Miss Piggy,

and Lulu.

- We all have hidden talents,
maybe a couple of magic tricks,

shadow puppetry, even parkour.

For one unlikely hero,
his special skill

is called on to save a life,

even though it's
technically a felony.

[tense thoughtful music]

- In 2019, a couple is
driving through Florida

with a crying baby
in the back seat.

The wife tells the husband to
pull over so they can get out

and attend to Baby Dallas,
who's inconsolable.

- [Dr. J Mack] The parents
open up the front door,

close the front door, and go
to open up the back door,

and realize that
the keys are inside.

They're locked out, and
Baby Dallas is inside.

[baby crying]
[tense dramatic music]

- It's getting hot in the car.

The baby is crying
harder and harder,

and the parents really
don't know what to do.

- This is a bad situation
for Baby Dallas.

Temperatures being
too high in the body

can end up leading to some
really serious outcomes,

including heatstroke and death.

[police radio chattering]

- [Dan] When police arrive,

they can't get the
door open either.

That's when help comes from
the most unexpected place.

[tense mysterious music]

- Nearby, there are a number
of workers in uniform,

black and white
striped uniforms,

because they're actually
convicts outside doing labor.

- During the commotion,

one of the inmates
goes up to a nearby car

and talks to the driver,

and is given, of all
things, a wire hanger.

- I'm sure the
parents were thinking

it's going from bad
to worse because now,

these convicts are
walking up to the car.

But he shapes up
the coat hanger,

and he goes to work to
try to break into the car.

- Meanwhile, the other convicts

are chiming in with
their own advice.

- [Dan] But he doesn't
need their help

because he has his own
checkered past as a carjacker.

[tense suspenseful music]

- There, after
about five minutes,

that noise that everyone was
waiting to hear, that click

of the doors being
unlocked, happens.

- [Shadow] Oh, yes!

Thank God!

Whoo!

Thank you so much.

- Nice job, boys.
- Appreciate it.

- The carjacker has
been able to utilize

his illicit knowledge for good.

- Unlock them damn doors.

Don't ever lock them again.

- The parents and
baby are reunited,

and they're back on the
road in short order.

- [Shadow] Honey,
was that stressful?

[baby crying]

- Mom is so grateful
that she ends up donating

to the convicts'
commissary funds.

- [Shadow] Thank you.

You guys have a great day.

- Hey, it's not every day
your baby gets rescued

by the best car
thieves in Florida.

Here's another tale of
being in the right place

at the right time.

[suspenseful
electronic synth music]

- [Kavitha] It's London, 1966.

Just four months
before the World Cup

is set to be held in England.

People are flocking to get a
glimpse of the World Cup trophy

that's on display at
Westminster Exhibition Hall.

- On March 20th, just the
second day of the exhibition,

the cup suddenly goes missing.

- The cup was stolen from
this case between 11:00

and 12:00 o'clock this morning.

The thieves broke in
by forcing the padlock

on the back of the building

without attracting the
attention of two security guards

who were on duty
in the building.

- Naturally, the World Cup
organization, a.k.a. FIFA,

is livid.

How are you gonna let
the World Cup get stolen

only two days after
you put it on display?

- [Dan] With no solid leads,

police are running
out of options

until a break in the case
comes from a surprising source.

- Dave Corbett is about to
take his dog out for a walk

in South London.

His dog is a very excited
Border Collie named Pickles.

[suspenseful orchestral music]

- Dave opens the front door,
and Pickles just takes off.

So Dave's running after
him with his leash,

wondering where
this dog is off to.

- Pickles is going crazy.

Something by his neighbor's car

has really caught
Pickles' attention.

- Dave approaches the car to
see what Pickles is on about,

and he sees something
rather peculiar.

- Lying there, right next
to his neighbor's tire,

is a package that is
tightly wrapped in newspaper

with string around it.

- Dave tears off a piece
of the newspaper wrapping,

and when he sees what's inside,
he can't believe his eyes.

- [Dan] It is the World Cup,
found in the most unlikely way,

courtesy of a determined
Border Collie.

- [Sami] Dave grabs the statue,

runs to the nearest
police station,

slams the World Cup trophy
on the sergeant's desk,

and goes, "I think I
found the World Cup."

[lively orchestral music]
[camera shutter clicking]

- Clearly, the police are very
curious as to how he got it.

They question him extensively

and eventually rule
him out as a suspect.

- When Dave arrives
back to his home,

there is a massive media
frenzy outside of his door.

- [Dan] But the press
is not there for Dave.

- [Dan] They're
interested in Pickles.

- [Dan] Everyone wants a
picture of the hero pooch

who saved the day.

[camera flash clicking]

- Pickles turned out to be
a source of good luck too,

because somehow, England goes on

to win the World Cup that year.

- [Dan] As for the thief, that
stayed a mystery for decades

until a long-buried family
secret comes to light.

- Finally, in 2017, the
nephew of a London gangster

named Sidney Cugullere
confirms to the newspapers

his uncle took the
World Cup on a lark.

- [Dan] Dave may have
claimed the $5,000 reward,

but it's Pickles who
steals the spotlight,

earning a year's
supply of dog food

and a starring role in the
film "Spy with a Cold Nose."

- They came to see the
animals of the zoo,

but what this family witnessed
was something wild all right,

just not in the
way they expected.

[tense suspenseful music]

- It's a sunny day
in 1996 in Chicago.

Families were out
enjoying a lovely day

at the Brookfield Zoo.

[bear growls]
[children screaming]

- One mom in particular
is hoping that the zoo

will keep her own wild
child entertained,

and it seems to be
doing the trick.

[bystanders gasping]

The pair wander to and from
many different animal exhibits

while the child points

and talks excitedly
about what he's seeing.

[bird chittering]

- This kid is getting
as close to the animals

as he possibly can,
and the mom is thankful

for the guardrails that
are keeping him safe.

- [Dan] As they approach
a popular exhibit,

the Western Lowland gorilla pit,

one great ape in particular
catches the boy's eye.

[tense uneasy music]

- [Dr. Thor] Her
name is Binti Jua,

and she is a full-grown
eight-year-old female gorilla,

very powerful and arguably
the star of the exhibit.

- [Rutledge] Lowland gorillas
are known to be really strong.

They're usually a
couple hundred pounds

and very protective
of their surroundings.

Now, this goes double for Binti
because she just had a baby.

- The boy is
spellbound by Binti,

so he leans over to get
a closer look at her.

[tense suspenseful music]

- [Dan] In seconds, the
boy goes from standing

on the outside of the barrier

to falling inside the
20-foot gorilla pit.

[mom screaming]
[gorilla yelling]

- [Dr. J Mack] The mom
goes into a panic.

She's looking down, and
her baby is unconscious

in the bottom of a gorilla pit!

[dramatic orchestral music]

- [Dr. Thor] To
make matters worse,

there are seven massive primates

in the pit with him, and
they might not be very happy

about this unexpected
guest dropping in.

- [Dr. J Mack] The
mom is screaming,

the crowd is screaming.

Everybody's trying to
get one of the zoo employees

to do something to help.

- [Cameraperson] Hey! Over here!

[tense dramatic music]

- [Dan] Just as the
gorillas begin to process

that a human child has
entered their enclosure,

Binti makes her
way over to the boy

and begins to shout
loudly and aggressively.

[gorilla yelling]

[intense dramatic music]

- The terrified mom and
all the folks watching

are bracing themselves

as Binti edges closer
and closer to the child.

- And her mind is going to
the worst possible scenario,

where Binti rips her son
to shreds before her eyes.

[mom screaming]
[gorilla yelling]

- [Dan] But that
isn't what happens.

Binti appears to be yelling
at the other gorillas

to stay away.

- Binti then takes the boy,
who is still unconscious,

and puts him under her
shoulder like a ragdoll,

and then runs toward
the enclosure door

and sets him down
right next to it

so the zookeepers can
get him out of there.

Amazingly, the boy
not only survives,

he comes through with only
a couple of cuts to his face

and a broken hand.

- The zoo officials suggest
that one of the reasons

Binti might have been so gentle

with the boy during this
incident was the fact that Binti

was actually hand-fed and
raised by human zookeepers.

So there is a possibility that
there's a little soft spot

in her heart for humans.

[soft thoughtful music]

- [Dan] Not the
babysitter she expected,

- Wanna talk about heroes?

Raising kids is not
easy for a single mom,

especially if you're
raising children

who may one day grow
up and try to eat you.

- It's August 2008, and
rural Kansas might seem like

a strange place
for Bengal tigers,

but at the Safari
Zoological Park,

three beautiful female
tigers are born.

Their names are Nasira,
Anjika, and Sidani.

- [Dr. Thor] Sadly, though,
within 15 hours,

[tiger cub screeches]

the tiger mother
abandons her triplets.

She has the tiger equivalent
of postpartum depression

and can't be made to care.

- The cubs need a mother,

but unfortunately, the zoo is on

the brink of financial collapse,

and they can't
afford to bring in

another Bengal
tiger to nurse them.

- [Dan] Then, as
all hope seems lost,

a golden hero emerges to
save the day, the cubs,

and the park.

- [Dr. Thor] Enter
Isabella for the win.

She is the zoo owner's
one-year-old Golden Retriever,

and she obviously doesn't
care about the species divide.

- [Kavitha] Isabella begins
taking care of the tigers

just like they're her own.

She licks them and even
nurses them with her own milk.

They start out at
about 11 pounds,

but that won't last long.

- Under the care of
their adopted mom,

they quickly become
about 140 pounds apiece.

- [Dan] As for the
Safari Zoological Park,

the unusual adoption
is a major draw.

Ticket sales skyrocket,
bringing in much-needed cash,

but as the tigers grow,
so do some concerns.

[light pensive music]

- As the Bengal cubs'
first birthday approaches,

experts warn the zookeepers

that the tigers still
have predatory instincts,

and the older and
larger they get,

the more dangerous things
will become for Isabella.

- Though the tigers never raise
a paw to their adopted mom,

the zoo feels it's better
to be safe than sorry.

On June 25th, 2009,
the large, furry family

celebrates one last day together

as a huge crowd watches
them romp and play,

having one last hurrah.

- [Dan] Isabella's maternal
instinct single-handedly saves

the zoo from financial ruin,

along with the lives
of 150 animals,

who are able to thrive
for years to come.

Our final hero, also of
the four-legged variety,

faces a big disaster that
will test its enormous heart.

[light tense music]

- It's 2004 in Phuket, Thailand,

and a little girl
named Amber Owen

is there on holiday
for Christmas

from England with her family,

and the resort they're in has a
really cool extra attraction.

- For the kids' amusement,

there's a four-year-old
elephant named Ning Nong,

and her young
handler allows folks

to take pictures with Ning Nong.

The kids can take
rides on her back,

and of course,
everyone loves it.

- Amber's never seen a real
elephant in real life before,

but when she sees Ning Nong,

it's like they
connect instantly.

The two become inseparable,
and Amber's thinking,

"This is like the
best Christmas ever."

- [Dan] However, what
begins as a dream vacation

for Amber's family is about
to spiral into a nightmare.

- [Holly] At 7:58 a.m., 249
miles southwest of Phuket,

an earthquake registering
9.1 on the Richter scale

begins about 30,000
meters under the ocean.

[earthquake rumbles]
[tense dramatic music]

- At 9:15 a.m., while Amber's
sitting atop Ning Nong,

she notices that the
sea has pulled out

really far back from the shore.

- [Eyewitness 1] Oh,
my God! Look at that!

- [Eyewitness 2] I know.
I can see it coming.

- When water pulls back
from the beach like that,

that's a sign that
a really bad tsunami

is about to come your way.

[ominous dramatic music]
[waves crashing]

- [Eyewitness 1] Tsunami!

- [Eyewitness 2]
Just look at that!

- In just a matter of minutes,

Phuket is completely
engulfed in water.

[waves crashing]

- [Eyewitness] Get
in, get in, get in!

- They get hit with a
100-foot rolling wall of water

that collapses buildings,
destroys the city,

and kills around 100,000
people instantly.

[tense thoughtful music]

- [Dan] As the water recedes,

the destruction is catastrophic,

and Amber's mom fears the worst.

- She goes running through
the hotel, screaming her name.

- [Holly] As she is
yelling, getting no answer,

her fear heightens,

but then suddenly
she hears the sound

any mother in that
situation would yearn for:

it's Amber, and she's okay.

Amber tells her mom
that as that water

was being pulled out to sea,

Ning Nong started
acting really weird.

She suddenly turned and
ran with Amber on her back

as far away from the beach
as she possibly could.

She got Amber to safety
and saved her life.

[tense electronic synth music]

- Whether it's a
bird with a mission,

a convict with a cause, or a
ghost with unfinished business,

these are the stories
of heroes so unlikely

they can only be
called unbelievable.

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