For so many Ethiopian girls, living in constant fear of abduction, rape, and forced marriage is a way of life. After all, approximately 70 percent of all marriages in the country occur this way. The sad truth is that it came as no shock when one 12-year-old girl was abducted and forced to marry.
But fortunately for this little lady, a pack of fearless hunters came to her rescue.
This might be hard to believe, but a group of three lions watched over the girl for a full day before she was finally found by authorities.
The huge beasts were distressed when they saw the girl being beaten and assaulted, so they charged at the men and lured her away from them so that she could rest under their protection.
“They stood guard until we found her, and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” one police investigator said to NBC News.
According to Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert, the young girl may have survived because she was crying.
That’s because lions sometimes mistake this sound for the distressed cry of their own cubs. “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,” said Mr. Williams.
Either way, we’re just happy that they were there to protect this poor girl. As of the last report, four of the seven men involved in this heinous crime have been arrested. If only these wonderful lions could watch out for the other girls who meet this awful fate every day.
(via DORAL 360)
