Its a miracle, spirits exist.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Police 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 Ethiopia.

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, Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo said Tuesday by telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560 kilometers (348 miles) west of the 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, adding he did not know whether the lions were male or female.

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. 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," Wondimu said.

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 (the lions) didn't eat her," 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, Wondimu said.

He said that police had caught four of the men, 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 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction, practiced 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 local currency. Former emperor Haile Selassie kept a pride in the royal palace in Addis Ababa.

Despite their integral place in Ethiopia culture, their numbers have been falling, according to experts, as farmers encroach on bush land.

Hunters also kill the animals for their skins, which can fetch $1,000, 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

Somebody give those lions a zebra, a deer, a bird...something for saving that girl.....

I'm telling you, this kind of shit infuriates me. It's great that the lion saved the girl, but what's up with these crazy traditional customs. I'm an open-minded person and I believe in tradition etc, but this kind of shit makes me want to kill somebody.

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 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction, practiced in rural areas where the majority of the country's 71 million people live.

People can be so fucked up!

Incredible!

Do you have a link?

unlucky7 said:

cnn.com

saintsation said:

Africa is so fucked up. But if I was the girl I'd be more afraid of the lions than the kidnappers. Male lions sometimes eat thier own cubs!

missklhk said:

Wow, very very surreal!

Not all Africa is bad, damnit.

Lizzy7701 said:

they deserved something....give those lions the 3 men

unlucky7 said:

You're right, not all of Africa is bad. Cult behaviour such as this is totally whack and this ridiculous traditional shit has to stop. Having said that, I don't think for one second that everyone in Africa is doing crazy shit like this. I'm sure many are decent people with brains in their heads.

kisscamille said:

agree

Wow amazing!

beautiful. i dont think it was a spirit tho. i believe everything and everyone has a heart.

if u havent seen TEARS OF THE SUN u should go and rent it,,,,good movie and
behind the scenes on the actors from AFRICA,,,AND HOTEL RWANDA

u'll b suprise of what happens there !!!

saintsation said:

ReturnOfDOOK said:

No one liked my funny.