Animals that are thankful to be alive this Thanksgiving
Instead of turning into someone else's dinner, these brave animals fought for their lives against some seriously fierce predators. Take a look at some of the best fight-or-flight instincts so far this year.
1. Porcupine scares off 17 lions
This little guy took what nature gave him to send the pride packing. Visitors to the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa saw a pride of lionesses clump around a small animal on the ground. One by one, lions were seen poking at a lone porcupine. When the porcupine started charging at the predators, fear trumped hunger and the lions retreated ... leaving the victorious mammal to live another day.
Watch the battle play out here:
2. Baby elephant shakes off hungry lions
Don't count this baby out! A one-year-old elephant under attack by a pride of vicious lions refused to give in, Inside Edition reports.
After straying from its herd, the baby elephant found itself surrounded by 14 hungry lionesses and their cubs. The attack was captured on video by tourists on safari in Zambia. It shows the creatures climbing on the elephant's back and digging into its hide with their teeth and claws to force him down.
The elephant made a smart move and charged into the water. Lions avoid water if they can, so they were quick to abort their mission. Then, the elephant actually turned on the lions and they fled in fear. Then the tourists said he rejoined his herd.
Check out the footage of the fight here:
3. Dog fights off coyote to save owner
It is rare for a coyote to approach a human under any circumstances, but when one decided to attack a woman on her property. The coyote refused to back off even when the husband shot his gun in the air to scare it. The 4-year-old dog, Mac, is credited with springing into action and fighting off the animal. Mac had many wounds from the encounter, but is doing okay now.
See how Mac is doing in the video below:
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