I have no idea whether this is true, but...
This is based on a story I came across on Quora, which I subsequently fact checked and certainly the core story appears to be true even if some of the speculation is much less than certain...
In 2005, seven kidnappers dragged a beaten 12-year-old girl through an Ethiopian forest—straight into three wild lions. But the apex predators didn't see the crying child as prey.
The men had abducted the girl a week earlier near Bita Genet, intent on forcing her into marriage. As they moved her through the wilderness, the lions intercepted the group. Instead of attacking indiscriminately, the big cats chased off the seven men and remained with the girl and they did not harm her.
When police and relatives finally tracked the group down about half a day later, they found the lions surrounding the girl, standing guard. Upon seeing the rescue party approach, the lions simply turned and retreated into the surrounding forest. Local police sergeant Wondimu Wedajo told reporters at the time, "They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest."
The girl was unharmed by the animals, though traumatised and injured from the beatings by her captors. The incident left many locals calling it a miracle, but wildlife experts proposed a potential behavioural explanation for the lions' unusual restraint.
While unconfirmed and subject to disagreement within the scientific community, it has been proposed that the girl's constant crying and her high-pitched whimpers may have sounded remarkably similar to the mewing of a young lion cub. This in turn changed the whole encounter because rather than triggering a predatory strike, the sound likely engaged the lions' parental instincts.
This is, of course, conjecture, but who knows?
While big cats are apex predators and their behaviour in the wild is notoriously unpredictable, the 2005 Ethiopian encounter stands as a documented instance where they shielded a human being from imminent harm, whatever the reason.
The story put a smile on my face anyway.
Stay safe and well as always my friends.
