CNN: Wild Lions Rescue Kidnaped Girl

by Gerard 9 Replies latest social current

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  Gerard

  Police: Lions free kidnapped girl

  
  

  
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/06/21/ethiopia.lions.ap/index.html
  

  
  
  Tuesday, June 21, 2005; Posted: 11:56 a.m. EDT (15:56 GMT)
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  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.
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  rebel8

  I don't know if I should be delighted or skeptical.
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  Gerard

  I am surprised too as, most predators rely greately on their sense of smell. They knew it was a human, not a cub.

  On the other hand, dolphins are also predators yet they are numerous reports of saving drowning people. There are also confirmed reports of a wild dog, chimps and gorillas saving kids from danger or abandonment.

  It is obvious most animals have some reasoning capacity -beyond instinct- Do they have a soul?

  I think they do.... AT least my cat does
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  RichieRich

  Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage,"

  Yeah, my cousin had to beat the crap out of his wife to get that ring on her finger....

  How does beating and rapings make them accept it??? That's the sad part.

  Here's where you know its BS:

  Wondimu said, adding he did not know whether the lions were male or female.

  What in the hell kind of sorry-ass African can't tell if its male or female? I've never been to Africa, and I can tell you that the REAL hairy ones are boys...

  Duh!
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  cruzanheart

  Young male lions may not have a mane. And I wouldn't want to get close enough to check the undercarriage!

  Poor girl. I hope she stays safe now. Probably she'll be part of an arranged marriage, but hopefully to a nice man who won't beat her.

  Now, imagine if this had happened in the United States: we'd have a lawsuit, a book deal, and a made-for-TV movie before the end of the month!

  Nina
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  Gerard

  Now, imagine if this had happened in the United States: we'd have a lawsuit, a book deal, and a made-for-TV movie before the end of the month!

  Nina

  Brilliant!
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  sonnyboy

  The United Nations estimates that more than 70 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction

  Lorena Bobbit needs to go over there and give a few seminars.
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  Gerard

  By Mad Thoughts of A Quiet Woman
  Jun 22, 2005, 11:01 Directly from the 'Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction' department comes a story out of Africa describing a young girl in trouble being rescued and protected by lions until human help arrived and in so doing perhaps brings to light the horrific practice of arranged marriages for girls as young as 7 years old.
  
  A 12 year-old girl was kidnapped from her remote Ethiopian village by a small group of men whose sole purpose was to force the child into an arranged marriage by any means necessary included violence. Over the next seven long days and nights these men beat the young girl relentlessly and repeatedly.
  
  Since they had taken the girl to a secluded area no one could hear her screams during the beating sessions...no one could hear her whimperings of despair and fear at night. But the young girl was being heard by the unlikeliest of heros. She was being heard by the lions.
  
  Those three lions perhaps heard something in the girl's anguish that reminded them of their own young cubs but for whatever reason, they sensed that this girl needed them. Amazingly these three lions rushed to the young girl's rescue by chasing off her tormentors. More amazingly still, the feline trio protected the girl by standing guard around her for several hours until she was found by relatives and the police.
  When the lions knew that the girl would be safe, they simply walked away back to the nearby forest and maybe back to their own cubs. Their job was done and to some, reinforces why a lion group is referred to as a 'pride'.
  
  The young girl was safe - for the time being. She suffered several cuts and bruises which will heal. Her emotional wounds will remain with her for quite some time. But her ordeal will be far from over.
  
  Among certain groups of people in Ethiopia there is a tribal custom that involves "marriage by abduction". Young girls are kidnapped, beaten and raped until they become pregnant. The abductors, aware that parents still demand a dowry for young virgin daughters as high as $500 Canadian, consider abduction a much cheaper method of securing a wife. Once a girl has been raped and beaten, the price goes down considerably to as low as $60 and a good horse. In all cases, the abductors are grown men sometimes 15 to 20 years older than the child.
  
  Worldwide it is estimated that there are at least 50 million young girls who are forced into mostly violent arranged marriages. Some are as young as 7 but most are 12 to 14 years old. Because the practice was largely ignored by the global community and mired in local custom and secrecy for so long, it wasn't until 2001 that the practice was officially denounced as a human-right violation by the United Nations.
  
  The UN proclamation unfortunately has not put an end to the practice but has forced participants further into the shadows of isolation. According to a Chicago Tribune article written by Paul Salopek, in Ethiopia's most remote and rural regions, it has been estimated that at least 82% of all brides are the result of arranged unions and marriage by kidnapping. In an area where virginity is considered sacred, children are forced into marriage years before they reach puberty because of their fear that the girls' first menses will be mistaken as the sign of premarital intercourse.
  
  So, if the lions hadn't rescued this young girl from her kidnappers that day, this article would not have been written. A more spiritual person might suggest that in rescuing one young girl, the lions brought attention to the plight of millions.
  
  Maybe it's time to pay attention. http://www.halifaxlive.com/artman/publish/lions_220605_6612.shtml
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  love2Bworldly

  That's a cool story, I hope it's true! Animals have 'senses' of fear or evil people or people in trouble, and react as they would toward their baby. At least that's what I believe. There was another story recently of an animal finding an abandoned human baby and guarding it for a couple days until the baby was found by people--can't remember the details of the story right now.
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  love11

  I don't think cnn would be reporting on it if it wasn't true. Why is it so hard to believe that other animals than us can have compassion and instictual love.