Lions rescue and guard Ethiopian girl kidnapped for forced marriage

Anthony Mitchell
Canadian Press

Tuesday, June 21, 2005


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

The men had held the girl for seven days, repeatedly beating her, before the lions scared them off. The big cats guarded her for half a day before her family and police found her, Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo said Tuesday by telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560 kilometres west of the country's capital, Addis Ababa.

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

Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said the young girl likely 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 (the lions) didn't eat her. Otherwise they probably would have." News of the June 9 rescue was slow to filter out from Kefa Zone in southwestern Ethiopia.

"If the lions had not come to her rescue then it could have been much worse," Wondimu said. "Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage."

The girl, the youngest of four siblings, was "shocked and terrified" and had to be treated for injuries from the beatings, the police sergeant said.

He said police had caught four suspects but were still looking for three others.

In Ethiopia, kidnapping has long been part of the marriage custom, a tradition of sorrow and violence whose origins are murky.

The United Nations estimates that more than 70 per cent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction, practised in rural areas where the majority of the country's 71 million people live.

Ethiopia's lions, famous for their large black manes, are the country's national symbol, and adorn statues and the country's currency. Former emperor Haile Selassie kept a pride of lions in the royal palace in Addis Ababa.

Despite their integral place in Ethiopian culture, their numbers have been falling, experts say, as farmers encroach on bush land.

Hunters also kill the animals for their skins - which can fetch $1,000 US- despite a recent crackdown against illegal animal trading across the country.

Williams said that at most, only 1,000 Ethiopian lions remain in the wild.

Very interesting. This should raise the consciosness of the local people to protect their national treasure.

I shot a nice big male lion in the Kefa Province
back in 1985.Lot's of lions there then. Good to hear there's still some around. It was a good area for Defassa Waterbuck, Aby. Bushbuck, Nile Buffalo, Aby. Bohor, and Hippo.too.
Rich Elliott

........."Williams said that at most, only 1,000 Ethiopian lions remain in the wild.".....


Oh, and I'm glad that this Williams guy had time to count all of the lions in Ethiopia!

Rich Elliott

Disney will be making the movie version next. (I don't believe any of this)

'Lions would have eaten girl'
22/06/2005 14:02 - (SA)


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Lions save kidnapped girl

Addis Ababa - Ethiopia was abuzz on Wednesday over reports that a small pride of lions rescued a 12-year-old girl from pursuers intending to force her into marriage, but wildlife experts scoffed at the accounts.

In a country recently embroiled in deadly post-election violence, the story of big cats saving a vulnerable maiden from unsavoury captors resonated throughout the capital and other cities where residents spoke excitedly of "miracles" and "divine intervention."

Experts expressed extreme doubts about the report which was first carried by the official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) on Tuesday and then picked up by state-run media, saying it was most likely too good to be true.

In fact, they said, far from displaying highly unusual empathy with a human being, the lions were almost certainly preparing to eat or attack the girl when they were surprised by police searching for the missing youngster.

According to a police officer cited by ENA, who repeated a similar account to AFP on Wednesday, the three lions chased away seven men who had abducted and beaten up the 12-year-old in an attempt to force her into an arranged marriage.

They then stood guard over the traumatised, sobbing girl before disappearing into the bush when police and family members arrived on the scene in the remote region of Bita Genet about 400km southwest of Addis Ababa.

Bita Genet police Sergeant Wondimu Wedajo said it appeared the lions had been attracted by the girl's screams and taken pity on her.

He called the incident "a miracle" and described the behaviour of the cats "something unbelievable."

Unfortunately for those enamoured by the tale, the latter opinion was shared by a decidedly sceptical animal expert and seasoned hunter who placed little credence in lions' supposed altruism.

Colonel Lemma Legesse, a professional big game hunter with experience in Bita Genet, said the lions, having chased off the larger humans, were likely getting ready to devour the helpless girl like other prey when they were interrupted by intruders.

"They were probably preparing to eat her but were intercepted by the police and the others," he said, noting that lion attacks on humans and farm animals have become increasingly frequent in the region.

"They have been attacking children and small animals like goats, so unless this was truly a miracle, it was merely a coincidence or luck," Lemma told AFP.

Ketma Amberber, the head of the Zoological and Natural History museum at Addis Ababa University, echoed that sentiment but offered an alternative theory.

"This was pure luck, it was not a question of guarding the girl or keeping her safe," he said. "Either the lions had already eaten and were full or the police arrived as they were deciding whether to eat her or attack.

"Otherwise, as they are wild naturally, it is more likely they would have killed the girl," Ketma said.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mikelravy:
Disney will be making the movie version next. QUOTE]

If it's got Charlize Theron in it, I'm there!
Dave