'A true miracle': 7-year-old boy survives 5 days in lion-infested game park in Zimbabwe
The boy went missing from his village on Dec. 27 and traveled about 40 miles from his home to the game park. A search for the boy was hindered by heavy rainfall that obscured many of his footprints.
A 7-year-old boy was found alive after wandering away from his village and getting stranded in a national park in Zimbabwe among "roaring lions" for five days, park officials and a member of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe said.
Mutsa Murombedzi, a member of the Zimbabwean Parliament for Mashonaland West Province, called the boy's discovery "a true miracle" in an X post shared on Wednesday. She said the ordeal occurred in Nyaminyami, a community in rural Kariba, "where one wrong turn could easily lead into a game park."
The boy went missing on Dec. 27 in the Marindi area after he traveled about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from home, got lost and unknowingly went into the "lion-infested Matusadona National Park," park officials said in a statement. The Matusadona National Park, which is flanked by the Ume and Sanyati rivers, has the "highest density of lion in Africa" and contains elephants, buffalos and typical lakeshore species like hippos, waterbucks and impalas, according to African Parks.
A joint search for the boy was launched but was hindered by heavy rainfall that obscured the boy's footprints. The rescuers eventually found footprints on Dec. 30 in the Sakata Valley area of the park, according to park officials.
Mutsa Murombedzi: 'Above all, we thank God'
After five "long (and) harrowing days" in the jungle near the Hogwe River, which feeds into Ume River, park rangers found the boy alive on Dec. 31, Murombedzi and park officials said. While lost in the park, the boy slept on a rocky perch, evaded lions, passed elephants and ate wild fruits, according to Murombedzi.
Park officials also said the child dug a small hole along the dry river bank to access underground water to drink, which is a technique known in drought-prone areas. After being rescued, the boy was taken to a local clinic for preliminary examinations and later moved to a hospital for further medical evaluations.
"We are overwhelmed with gratitude to the brave park rangers, the tireless Nyaminyami community who beat night drums each day to get the boy (to) hear sound and get the direction back home and everyone who joined the search," Murombedzi says in the X post. "Above all, we thank God... This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer and never giving up."