12-year-old girl was kidnapped and abused by 7 men until three lions rescued her

The Kings of the Jungle saved a little girl from her abductors

A little girl who had been kidnapped by men in her native Ethiopia was rescued by a trio of lions, revealed FoxNews.com.

The 12-year-old girl had been abducted by a man who was trying to force her into a marriage with the aid of seven accomplices.

Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, a police officer from Bita Genet, a town about 350 miles southwest of Addis Ababa explained that the child had been missing for a week when she was found on the outskirts of Bita Genet.

Apparently, a trio of lions had chased away the men who were beating the young girl and proceeded to watch over her for half a day until the police arrived. The animals were black-maned Ethiopian lions known for their ferocity

"They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,"

Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, FoxNews.com, 31st of May 2018

The police speculated that if she had not been rescued by the lions, the girl would have been raped by her prospective 'bridegroom' in order to force her to accept the marriage.

A local government official, Tilahun Kassa, confirmed that one of the men had wanted to marry the girl against her wishes.

Wildlife expert Stuart Williams, attributed the lions' protective behavior as an instinctive reaction to her sounds of distress. He believes her weeping would have sounded very similar to a lion cub's mewing.

The young girl was in shock after her abduction and had to be treated for the cuts and extensive bruises.

The police had caught four of the abductors, but three of the suspects are still at large.

Forced marriages in which the brides are kidnapped is a long-standing custom in Ethiopia and the United Nations estimates that more than 70 percent of marriages in the country are brought about by force.