Young boy survives five days alone in lion-filled reserve by digging wells

A young boy survived five days alone on a reserve full of lions and other dangerous animals by digging wells and eating fruit.

Tinotenda Pundu, said to be either seven or eight, had wandered away from his village in northern Zimbabwe on December 27 and got lost.

He was found around 30 miles (50km) away five days later, in Matusadona National Park, weak and dehydrated but alive.

Tinotenda used sticks to dig into a river bank for water, a skill taught in the drought-prone area, and ate a wild fruit known as tsvanzva.

‘He was clever enough to… sleep on perched rocks so that lions and other wildlife could not get to him,’ said local MP Mutsa Murombedzi.

After five days Tinotenda heard a park ranger’s car and ran towards it, but by the time he got there it had gone.

Thankfully the rangers later returned and noticed fresh child-sized foot prints and found him soon after.

He was taken to hospital and put on a drip, according to local media.

ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said: ‘Remarkably, it is estimated that he walked through the harsh terrain of the lion-infested Matusadona National Park for 49 kilometres from his village to the point where he was found.’

Rangers and police launched a search for Tinotenda immediately after he was reported missing.

Ms Murombedzi said villagers also helped with the search, ‘playing drums hoping that he would follow the sound.’

She added that it was a ‘miracle’ he lasted so long alone in the dangerous terrain.

‘We are overwhelmed with gratitude to the brave park rangers,’ she said. ‘This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer and never giving up.’

Tinotenda’s story was shared on social media, with one person person posting: ‘This is an incredibly lucky boy. We went camping in that game park and our guides told us that it has some of the most vicious lions. We saw a pride of eight lions. Very scary place.’

The Matusadona National Park, near Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, is home to a range of wild animals including lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo, according to its website.

In September a six-year-old girl, who is autistic and non-verbal, survived three days in a Canadian forest before being found.

An eight-year-old boy, meanwhile, was rescued after surviving for two days lost in the Michigan wilderness in 2023.

But one of the most remarkable stories of children surviving in the wild, was when four siblings, aged 13, nine, four, and 11 months, spent 40 days in the Amazon jungle in Columbia – also in 2023 – before being found alive.

They had been travelling in a small plane, along with their mother, when it crashed in the thick rainforest, killing all the adults.

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