A seven-year-old boy wandered alone for five days among wild animals in a national park in Zimbabwe until he was found alive by rangers, national parks and wildlife management authorities confirmed on Friday.
Tinotenda Pundu is believed to have walked about 50 kilometres in Matusadona Park, located in northern Zimbabwe. The park is home to various wild animals, including lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinos.
Tinotenda, whose name, incidentally, means 'we give thanks' in the local Shona language, lives in a small village on the edge of the nearly 1,500 square-kilometre park. He entered it on 27 December but lost his way and likely became increasingly disoriented as he walked deeper into the park.
Fellow villagers searched for him for days, but the heavy rain severely hindered their efforts.
Rangers found fresh footprints on 30 December and located Tinotenda the next morning. The boy had no visible injuries but was weakened and has been hospitalised.
According to park authorities, the boy survived by eating wild fruit and digging for water.
Local politician Mutsa Murombedzi described his story as a “true miracle” on the social networking site X.
