What non-human animal(s) do you think is (are) heroic or admirable?

Dogs are very heroic and I admire them as a species.

Polar bears have such a fascinating mixture of ferociousness and grace and I think they’re beautiful.
Elephants seem so humble, wise and trustworthy. I admire these two species.

Heroic? I think any animal that is manipulated, exploited or abused by man is “heroic”.

Wow, that cow rocks. Go Yvonne, yeah!

Dolphins, they are highly intelligent and playful.

My cat,Gremily!
Earlier this evening,she was mewing very loudly out the window to get our attention.We went inside and discovered that the flame blew out on the stove and gas had filled the house!
She is my little hero:)

@lucillelucillelucille Damn, that cat kicks. :) Also; TOTALLY CUTE! :D

@Symbeline Thanks! She is something else! I gave her extra treats for letting me know about the gas :)

Some birds. I’ve seen mother/father birds take dives at hawks who land on their nest. I’ve also seen them do the same thing to people who get near their nest. It really depends on the species. I’ve also seen birds fly away when they fear they may be in danger and give up the nest.

Do insects count? I think the work ethic of the ant is pretty heroic.

Dogs, particular those trained for search and rescue.

I once saw some footage of a rescue dog leap out of a helicopter hovering 15(ish) feet over frigid water with chunks of ice floating in it to carry a rescue line to a drowning/freezing human. There was absolutely no hesitation what so ever from this animal. At that moment the dog was 100% focused on one task and one task alone with no thought of personal safety or comfort.

Dung beetles. I mean, the shit they pull.
Oh & butterflies, the way they fly is so clumsy. It’s as if they can’t believe they have the power of flight & panic when they take off….“woah, what’s all this shit then?”

‘Heroic’ and ‘admirable’ are terms created by humans. Do the animals that receive the attention deserve these adjectives? In most cases, no. They were either trained to do so, or their behavior is ingrained.

Here is a list of Top 10 Heroic Animals compiled by Time. Of these ten, the only one that really fits the bill was Moko the Dolphin. and possibly Japanese Rescue Dog which probably wasn’t technically a rescue dog.