📝Updated for accuracy
Some details in this fact have been corrected based on our review of primary sources.
In 2005, a 12-year-old Ethiopian girl was kidnapped by seven men trying to force her into marriage. When police found her a week later, three lions were standing guard around her. The kidnappers were gone. The lions turned and walked back into the forest as the humans approached.
Three Lions Guarded a Kidnapped 12-Year-Old Until Police Found Her
In June 2005, seven men abducted a 12-year-old girl in southwestern Ethiopia. Their plan was to force her into marriage with one of them - a practice that, despite being illegal, remained common in rural parts of the country.
Police and relatives searched for a week. When they finally found her on the outskirts of Bita Genet, she was not alone.
The Lions
Three lions were standing around the girl. The kidnappers were gone. According to Sergeant Wondimu Wedajo, the lions had apparently chased off her captors and then stayed with the girl for about half a day before police arrived.
"They stood guard until we found her, and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Wondimu told the Associated Press.
Why Didn't They Attack Her?
Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with Ethiopia's rural development ministry, offered a theory: "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."
Lions are not known for protecting humans. They are apex predators responsible for dozens of deaths in rural Africa each year. Whatever the reason - mistaken identity, simple indifference, or something no one can explain - the outcome was the same. The girl survived.
Aftermath
The girl was found "shocked and terrified" with visible cuts from beatings during the kidnapping. Four of the seven abductors were arrested. Three remained at large.
The United Nations estimated at the time that more than 70% of marriages in Ethiopia involved some form of abduction. The story brought brief international attention to the practice, though enforcement of existing laws remained difficult in rural areas.