A seven-year-old boy, who had been missing for five days, has been found alive in a reserve full of lions and other wild animals in northern Zimbabwe, the country’s wildlife authority reported this Friday.
The little boy, Tinotenda Pundu, entered the Matusadona National Park, near his village, on December 27 and has been found five days later about 50 kilometers further inlandsaid Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks).
The boy has survived feeding on wild berries and water which he found by digging on the bank of a river, a technique well known in drought-prone areas of Zimbabwe, the spokesperson added in a statement.
“Surprisingly, we estimate that he walked through the harsh terrain of this Matusadona national park, full of lions, for 49 kilometers from his village to the point where he has been located,” declared Farawo.
Park guards, local residents and the Police search operations launched immediately after learning of the disappearance of the minor, but their attempts were unsuccessful due to heavy rains.
On December 30, they were discovered child’s footprintswhich was finally found the next morning, according to the ZimParks spokesperson.
After being located, Tinotenda Pundu was taken to hospital, although he had no visible injuries, said Mutsa Murombedzi, a parliamentarian originally from the area. «It’s a miracle he survived. (…) He was clever enough to sleep on rocky slopes so that lions and other wild animals could not reach him,” he detailed.
“Several residents helped in the search operations, playing percussion instruments in the hope that the sound would follow,” he added. However, Tinotenda Pundu was eventually found thanks to the help of forest guardswho went into nature to find it.
The Matusadona National Park, near Lake Kariba, is home to a wide variety of wild animalsincluding lions, elephants, leopards and buffaloes, according to their website.
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