Lions rescue Ethiopian girl from abductors

POLICE in Ethiopia say three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by men who wanted to force her into marriage, chasing off her abductors and guarding her until police and relatives tracked her down in a remote corner of the country.

The men had held the girl for seven days, repeatedly beating her, before the lions chased them away and guarded her for half a day before her family and police found her, Sergeant Wondimu Wedajo said.

“They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” Mr Wondimu said.

News of the rescue on June 9, which took place in a forest on the outskirts of Bita Genet, was slow to filter out from Kefa Zone in south-western Ethiopia.

“If the lions had not come to her rescue then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage,” he said. “Everyone thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people.”

Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said that it was likely that the young girl was saved because she was crying from the trauma of her attack.

“A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they didn’t eat her,” Mr Williams said. “Otherwise they probably would have done.”

The girl, the youngest of four brothers and sisters, was “shocked and terrified” and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings, Mr Wondimu said.

Ethiopia’s lions, famous for their large black manes, are the country’s national symbol.