17.
Lions Free A Kidnapped Girl
Piteous crying of a kidnapped girl apparently moved the hearts of 3 lions in Ethiopia. This incident took place in June 2005. 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.
According to Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560 kilometers west of the capital, Addis Ababa, 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 until her family and police found her.
"They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Wondimu says.
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.
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.
The girl, the youngest of four brothers and sisters, was "shocked and terrified" and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings.
Police later arrested 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.
According to Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560 kilometers west of the capital, Addis Ababa, 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 until her family and police found her.
"They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Wondimu says.
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.
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.
The girl, the youngest of four brothers and sisters, was "shocked and terrified" and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings.
Police later arrested 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.
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These animals who live with us on our farms — even they are satisfied. They are not afraid. If they are resting, and some of my students come near, they do not stir and become fearful. They have come to know, “These people love us. They’ll not harm us. We are safe. We are at home.” Any animal, be he bird or beast, can be taught this sense of safety and friendship. Take these cows. They know all of you are their friends. Animals can understand this. You can make friends even with lions and tigers. Yes. I have seen it. At the World’s Fair in New York, a man was embracing a lion, and the lion was playing with him the way a dog plays with his master. I’ve seen it. |
Little Tyke is the name of this lioness, born in the zoo at Tacoma, Washington. Nursed for a broken leg, she became a rancher’s house pet, enjoying perfume, flowers, her own bed, a diet of milk and cereal. She never touches meat-which may account for the complacency of her kitten friend
—From a vintage Readers Digest
—From a vintage Readers Digest
