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Kidnapped Ethiopian Girl Rescued by Caring, Protective Lions
The Grist ^ | 3 Apr 2013 | Sarah Miller

Posted on 04/06/2013 1:50:00 PM PDT by nickcarraway

A 12-year-old girl kidnapped by a group of seven men in the Ethiopian city of Bita Genet was found several days after her abduction, safe under the watchful eyes of three lions. Not only were the lions guarding her, they allegedly chased off her captors.

The girl was reportedly abducted by the seven men with the idea that she would be forced into marrying one of the them. According to the United Nations, about 70 percent of the marriages taking place in Ethiopia are the result of similar kidnappings. And nearly 100 percent of those abduction-marriages are not thwarted by kindly wildlife.

While it is certainly within reason to consider this a miracle, a wildlife official did point out that the lions — who guarded the girl for about a half day — may have heard her crying and mistaken her for a cub. Interesting theory, but don’t lions know the difference between a Person and a Furry Thing that Looks Just Like Them? Although who wants to complain? It’s such a great story.

It’s so great, in fact, that Twitter is going nuts about it today even though this event took place and was reported on in 2005. Possibly because there’s been so much rape in the news lately, and it’s nice to hear a story with a happy ending. Or maybe we just like stories where animals behave in the noble, humane way we wish people would.


TOPICS: Local News; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: 2005; africa; aslan; children; culture; ethiopia; lions; napl; rescue; wildlife
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To: nickcarraway

Christian the lion reunited with his old care takers. Very touching. You’ll love it.
http://youtu.be/0ZIQUb-d4GQ

As for me, I’d stay away from them.
We have a big cat rescue near by that we visit. Funny when spectators get too close,don’t know to get out of the way, and get peed on. LOL. City slickers.


21 posted on 04/06/2013 2:46:40 PM PDT by sunny48
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To: Revel
Don’t laugh. It may be safer than walking up to a cop.

Agreed, at least I've never heard of a lion shooting itself in the foot.

22 posted on 04/06/2013 2:55:18 PM PDT by varon (USA Nationalist)
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To: nickcarraway

I am happy for the girl and it is a nice story, but it may be simply the lions saw the weakest of the group and took it off to eat later or feed its cubs. They chased the adults away to protect the food.


23 posted on 04/06/2013 3:00:34 PM PDT by mnehring
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Just about every culture in the world has a history of marriage by capture. A great many wedding customs of various cultures are based on remnants of the practice.

My daughter is a wedding videographer, and on an immigrant Romanian wedding she went along with the groom and his henchmen when they “kidnapped” the bride to film it. Pretty funny, because they got bored after the abduction while waiting for the wedding to start and all got so drunk they could hardly stand up for the ceremony.


24 posted on 04/06/2013 3:32:01 PM PDT by Sherman Logan
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To: Blood of Tyrants

The religion of peace strikes again....


25 posted on 04/06/2013 3:42:20 PM PDT by CatherineofAragon (Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization)
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To: sunny48

I love that.

If I had it to do over (and if I were single, since it’s a dangerous line of work), I’d become a zoologist. I have a soft spot for cats, big and small.


26 posted on 04/06/2013 3:43:38 PM PDT by CatherineofAragon (Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization)
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To: nickcarraway

B.S.


27 posted on 04/06/2013 3:44:01 PM PDT by Washi (PUSH BACK! Encourage your legislators to introduce pro-second amendment legislation.)
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To: Twotone
...but if I cough hard or make some other kind of unusual sound, she’ll come over to try to comfort me.

If your cat was bigger than you...she'd come over to try to eat you.

28 posted on 04/06/2013 3:45:27 PM PDT by Washi (PUSH BACK! Encourage your legislators to introduce pro-second amendment legislation.)
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To: mnehring
Lions don't normally hunt and eat people, unless they are starving, or unable to hunt regular game. They will however attack and kill people. Once they get used to the taste of human flesh, they turn into man-eaters.

In this story, the girl should be dead even if they were keeping her to eat later. Moreover,adult humans or children are pretty weak to a lion. We are not fast or strong.

This is a very unusual incident.

29 posted on 04/06/2013 3:47:08 PM PDT by Moorings
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To: Washi

No. She’d lose the person who plays ball with her when she’s bored. She prefers playing to eating.


30 posted on 04/06/2013 3:47:27 PM PDT by Twotone (Marte Et Clypeo)
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To: Moorings

It’s got the Touch of God all over it, it defies all other logic.


31 posted on 04/06/2013 4:29:02 PM PDT by Bulwyf
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To: nickcarraway

I bet that since this happened, this girl has been seen as having “major greegree”. Lions are very respected in Ethiopia.

Emperor Haile Selassie, himself thought of by some, like Rastafarians, as a “god king”, kept a pride of lions in his private zoo from 1930 until the 1970s, long enough so they have almost become a separate subspecies. They are still around, and look different from other lions, and are seen as a national treasure.


32 posted on 04/06/2013 4:47:32 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: Paisan

Siamese are incredibly intuitive - and I speak as one who doesn’t particularly like owning them - mostly ‘cause they are really demanding creatures. Cats can be very good watchdogs - silent but alert. You just have to watch the signals to know what they are saying.


33 posted on 04/06/2013 5:02:37 PM PDT by miss marmelstein ( Richard Lives Yet!)
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To: Bayard

>>>That sure is a lion of a tale....get it.. heh heh.. lion
LOL

I’ll leave out the back way... >>>

PLEASE tell me you’re NOT appearing for the next 6 nights, and I promise I’ll eat the pork chops anyway.


34 posted on 04/06/2013 5:47:31 PM PDT by kitkat (STORM THE HEAVENS WITH PRAYERS FOR OUR COUNTRY)
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To: nickcarraway

-——Not only were the lions guarding her——

Actually, they were fattening her up. Stringy girls need a little meat on their bones to be good


35 posted on 04/06/2013 5:52:55 PM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 .....History is a process, not an event)
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To: Paisan

Their mind-reading abilities were uncanny...

* * *

I had a black half-Siamese (his name was Ursus) — craziest cat ever — who did exactly the same thing! I KNOW Ursus could tell when I was thinking about having a snack. He would come running in from the next room! So it wasn’t just my body language. Having Ursus around the house was like having another human around ... just so much personality. Had him for nearly 20 years. Dang, I miss that mind-reading cat!!!


36 posted on 04/06/2013 7:46:19 PM PDT by Hetty_Fauxvert (FUBO, and the useful idiots you rode in on!)
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To: nickcarraway; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...
Remember to tell your children to always go up to lions and pet them, if they see them.

But if called by a panther...
...don't anther.


37 posted on 04/06/2013 8:09:38 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: mardi59

38 posted on 04/06/2013 8:15:02 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: nickcarraway

God saved Daniel from the lion den. Poor little girl.


39 posted on 04/06/2013 8:30:05 PM PDT by JouleZ (You are the company you keep.)
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To: JouleZ

Where is she now? Did they burn her as a witch?


40 posted on 04/07/2013 8:36:54 AM PDT by null and void (Gun confiscation enables tyranny. Republicans create the tools of oppression and Democrats use them.)
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