The young boy survived by eating wild fruit (Mutsa Murombedzi/Twitter)
An eight-year-old boy has been found alive after surviving five days in a game park with lions and elephants in northern Zimbabwe, according to a member of parliament.
The problem started when Tinotenda Pudu wandered 23 km (14 miles) from home into the “dangerous” Matusadona Game Park, Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi said on X.
He spent five days “sleeping on a rocky perch, among roasted lions, passing elephants, eating wild fruit”, she said.
There are about 40 lions in the Matusadona game park. At one time, there was one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks.
Murombedzi said the boy used his knowledge of the wild and survival skills to stay alive.
Tinotenda survived his ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also dug small wells into dry riverbeds with a stick to access drinking water – a skill learned in the drought-ridden area.
Members of Nyaminyami's local community started a search party and beat the drums every day to try and lead him back home.
But in the end, it was the park rangers who managed to find him.
On his fifth day in the wild, Tinotenda heard a ranger's car and ran towards him, narrowly missing him, the MP said.
Fortunately, the rangers returned, saw “new small footprints,” and searched the area until they found him.
“This may be his last chance to be rescued after 5 days in the wilderness,” the MP said.
The park is over 1,470 square km (570 square miles) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions and antelope.
Across social media, people have been praising the young boy for his resilience.
“This is beyond human understanding,” one person wrote on X.
Another user wrote: “He has one hell of a story to tell when he goes back to school.”
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(Getty Images/BBC)
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