According to the wildlife authority in Zimbabwe, a seven-year-old child was discovered alive after being missing for five days in a northern Zimbabwean reserve that is home to lions and other wild creatures.
The youngster strayed into the nearby Matusadona National Park on December 27 and was discovered five days later, around 50 kilometers (almost 30 miles) away, according to Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for ZimParks.
According to a statement from Farawo, the boy had survived on water and wild fruit that he discovered by excavating into a riverbank, a practice common in drought-prone regions of Zimbabwe.
“Remarkably, it is estimated that he walked through the harsh terrain of the lion-infested Matusadona National Park for 49 kilometers from his village to the point where he was found,” Farawo stated.
After learning that the youngster was missing, police, Rangers, and residents immediately began searching for him, but the intense rain made their efforts more difficult.
According to him, the youngster, Tinotenda Pundu, was located early the next day after his footprints were discovered on December 30. According to local politician Mutsa Murombedzi, the infant was admitted to the hospital and was weak but uninjured. “It was a miracle that he survived,” she told AFP.
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“He was clever enough to… sleep on perched rocks so that lions and other wildlife could not get to him,” she said.
“Villagers helped with the search, playing drums hoping that he would follow the sound,” the MP said. But he was only found with the help of rangers who were able to go deeper into the wilderness to look for him.
According to its website, the Matusadona National Park, near Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, is home to a range of wild animals including lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo.
All thanks to God for saving him!