Lioness

​Ethiopia – A  missing girl who was taken and beaten by seven much older men attempting to force her in a marriage with one of them was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday said Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, on telephone from the  capital of Bita Genet.
She was beaten repeatedly before she was found June 9 by police and relatives on the outskirts of Bita Genet, Wondimu said. She had been guarded by the lions for about half a day, he said.“They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” Wondimu said. Her siblings were shocked by the abduction and her rescuers. Four abductors have been caught so far.                                                                                                        Photo by Rod Waddington
A True miracle’
The girls family and friends feel this is a miracle but Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said the girl may have survived 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,” Williams said. These abductions however are not that uncommon here in fact the UN estimates almost 70% of all Ethiopian marriages are by forced abduction.