Moms are our strength and our source of support. Moms can also protect us in ways we can’t even imagine. For moms, their children are everything. They will most often do anything to safeguard their children. In this listicle, we’ll let you know about some fearless moms from different eras and different parts of the world. Do you know what’s common among all of them? Yes, you guessed it right. All of them had taken some bold steps to protect their kids. Let’s read about 10 mothers who took extreme measures for their children.

1 A Canadian mom saved her son and his friends from a polar-bear attack, single-handedly.  

In February 2006, a lady named Lydia Angiyou, a resident of Ivujivik, had courageously fought a polar bear to save her son and his mates. Her son, a seven-year-old, and his two friends were outside when a polar bear attacked them. This fearless mother came out to place herself in front of the children to safeguard them. Lydia continued to fight with the bear until a local hunter, Sirqualuk Ainalik, arrived at the place and shot the bear. 

Lydia, then 41, was trembling with fear when she was found. She was safe as the hunter shot the bear just when it had climbed up on Lydia. The strength Lydia had developed to fight such a brutal attack is believed to be “hysterical strength.” Lydia later received the Medal of Bravery from the governor-general for her unquestioned valor. (1, 2)

2 A Kenyan mom acted dead for over four hours, along with her little children, to survive the Nairobi mall attack. 

In 2013, a deadly terrorist attack had taken place in Westgate Mall, Kenya. Faith Wambua-Luedeling and her two children were stuck inside the mall during this attack. Faith had parked her car in the basement of Westgate mall before entering the mall with her 21-month-old son and nine-year-old daughter. 

While entering the building, Faith could hear loud noises. She even thought that an earthquake was happening, and the mall would collapse. When she understood that running wouldn’t be an option, she prompted her children to lie down on the floor. Faith later explained that they heard several gunshots and could even smell the gun powder.

She wasn’t aware that more than ten terrorists had attacked the mall. However, she continuously tried to keep her little children still so that nobody would discover that they were alive. The children were asking questions, and it was difficult to keep them calm. 

A total of 67 innocents were killed in the attack. The police could catch only nine terrorists. Faith revealed that after four and a half hours, she and her children were rescued by cops. She was terrified after the incident, and she said her daughter would hear gunshots in her sleep. 

Photographer Tyler Hicks had somehow managed to click a picture of Faith and her children, playing dead. This picture later received the Pulitzer Prize. (source)

3 A fearless South African mom, known as “Lion Mama,” killed her daughter’s rapist single-handedly. 

In September 2017, a daring mom killed a rapist and wounded two others to save her daughter. One evening, this mother was cooking when her daughter’s friend informed her that her 27-year-old daughter had been dragged to a nearby building by three young men who were planning to gang-rape her. Nokubonga Qampi, also known as “Lion Mama,” ran to the police station, but they were of no help. 

Desperate to save her daughter, she ran to the building where her daughter, Siphokazi, was taken. She could hear her daughter’s screams from outside. Qampi ran to the building to find out that three naked men were trying to rape her daughter. “Lion Mama” had her kitchen knife with her, and she stabbed Zamile Siyeka, one of the rapists, right away. The other two rapists, Zolisa Siyeka and Mncedisi Vuba, were also critically wounded by her. 

Qampi then comforted her daughter before police and paramedics arrived at the scene. Initially, “Lion Mama” was arrested as she killed one rapist and injured the other two. However, immense protests were raised in favor of her. She was also offered a lawyer. However, the charges were dropped later, while the two convicted rapists were charged with 30-year sentences. (1, 2)

4 Boxer Tony Wilson’s mother once entered the boxing ring and started hitting Tony’s opponent as her son was losing. 

In 1989, a boxing match was going on at Southhampton, England, between Tony Wilson and Steve McCarthy. The British light-heavyweight championship was going on, and it was the third round. Tony Wilson’s mother was also sitting in the audience, and she got upset when her son was being thumped by McCarthy. 

To everyone’s surprise, Minna Wilson climbed into the boxing ring and started banging McCarthy’s head with her stilettos. This led to a critical wound, and McCarthy began bleeding. McCarthy needed hospital treatment immediately. 

Later, when McCarthy was not ready to return to the boxing ring, the referee declared Tony Wilson as the winner. However, the audience was furious with the judgment, and they attacked Wilson until his trainer rescued him. The security officers had taken Minna Wilson from the spot, but she was never arrested. Tony Wilson also tried to defend his mother later by saying that she had never taken such a drastic step before. (1, 2)

5 A mother saved her daughter from a fatal shark attack at a Florida beach. 

In March of 2012, a mother-daughter duo was surfing at Smyrna Beach in Florida. Suddenly, a shark pulled Sydney, the adolescent daughter of Valeh Levy. off her surfboard. At the first attempt, Levy pulled her daughter up, but the shark made another attempt, this time pulling Sydney beneath the sea. Sydney was getting almost within the jaws of the predator, despite Valeh’s efforts to save her. 

Two surfers came running to the site when Sydney and Levy screamed for help. With their help, Levy was able to drag her daughter back to the beach. An ambulance was already present at the beach as another teenage boy named Nick Romano was also attacked by a shark that day. Soon, Sydney and her mother were rushed to the hospital. Levy was discharged from the hospital within hours. However, Sydney had some deep wounds in her leg. (1, 2)