A young man has been found alive after surviving five days in a game reserve inhabited by lions and elephants in northern Zimbabwe, a member of parliament has said.
The ordeal began when Tinotenda Pudu wandered at least 23km (14 miles) from his home in the "dangerous" Matusadona game reserve, Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi told X.
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He spent five days "sleeping on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by roaring lions, encountering elephants, eating wild fruit," he said.
The Matusadona game reserve is home to about 40 lions. At one point, it had one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority confirmed the incident to the BBC, but said the boy was seven years old, not eight as the MP had said, and had walked 49 km (30 miles) from home.
Muombedzi said the boy used his knowledge of nature and survival skills to stay alive.
Tinotenda survived his ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also dug small wells in dry riverbeds with a stick to collect drinking water - a skill learned in the drought-prone region.
Local community members in Nyaminyami have been holding a search party and beating drums every day in an attempt to guide him home. But in the end, it was the rangers who managed to find him.
On his fifth day in the wilderness, Tinotenda heard a park ranger's car and ran towards it, narrowly missing it, the MP said.
Fortunately, the rangers returned, saw "small fresh human tracks" and searched the area until they found him.
"It was probably his last chance to be rescued after five days in the wild," the MP said.
The park covers more than 1,470 km² (570 sq mi) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions and antelopes. On social media, netizens praised the young man's resilience.
"This is beyond human comprehension," wrote one person on X.
Another user wrote: "He will have a terrible story to tell when he goes back to school." »
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