Mantastic Feats of Fatherhood

While a good father should always strive to be a hero to his kids, sometimes circumstances arise when being that hero goes well beyond providing tips on how to throw a good spiral. Take for instance, when you're in the forest and you need to fight off a cougar (the animal).

With Father's Day approaching, we salute five dads who used their strength and cunning to save the day. Had our fathers loved us a little bit more, we're sure they totally would have done the same thing rather than leaving us to our own devices to fight off cougars.

Click here to read about the daddest of the dads.

Father Punches Cougar to Save Son
Paul Krismer was sitting in the park with his 4-year old son when a cougar jumped out from behind a bush and pounced on the boy's neck. Without any time to think, Krismer leapt right on top of the big cat and punched it so hard it released his son's head. Then he stomped the feline until it went back to where it came from. Afterward, the proud poppa modestly credited the quick reflexes of little Paul Daniel, who only suffered mild injuries, with minimizing the attack.

Superdad Rescues Wife, Kids, Pets and Stuffed Animals From Burning Home
James Irvine had fallen asleep with a Superman T-shirt on when he awoke to find his house ablaze. Not only was the 32-year-old able to quickly pull his wife and two young children from the burning home, he also rescued their nine dogs and even went back for his kids' favorite stuffed animals. True to his shirt, he accomplished all this despite a fire spreading so rapidly that investigators concluded if Irvine had slept two minutes longer everyone would have been dead. The whole scenario is quite the antidote to those ironic "World's Greatest Dad" mug shots.

Father Foils Bank Robbery, Saves Family
It was early morning and James Spruill was driving his wife to the bank where she worked. Not because she needed a lift to her job, but because a would-be bank robber was sitting in the backseat with his pistol against their son's ribs. On the way, Spruill noticed a police car in his rearview mirror. While he knew he couldn't do anything too rash, his subtle swerves were enough to get him pulled over. Instead of leaving anything to chance, Spruill then used the distraction of the approaching cop to leap into the backseat of the car and disarm the gunman.

Quick-Thinking Dad Tracks Down Swept-Away Daughter
What would you do if your daughter disappeared right before your eyes? That's what happened to Mark Baxter, when his 3-year-old, who was playing in a puddle, was sucked into a hidden drainage pipe. Once he was able to figure out what had just happened, the quick -thinking 34-year-old sprinted to a nearby river, where the 200-foot pipe had already dispatched his unconscious daughter. He spotted her immediately and dove in to to rescue her. She made a full recovery.

Marine Dad Downs Charging Bear
The 300-lb. black bear had already removed a cooler from the Everhart family's campsite and was now charging toward one of Chris Everhart's three sons. So the ex-marine picked up the closest blunt object -- a piece of firewood -- and hurled it at the burly predator. The log struck the bear's skull, not only thwarting the attack, but slaying the beast.
"Star Wars" illustration and others can be found at Mike R. Baker.