Zimbabwe’s jungle… lion, leopard and missing child, the intelligence of this little ‘Bear Grylls’ to survive is amazing! – Eight years old boy lost in Matusadona National Park in Zimbabwe among lions returned after five days ntcppl

You must have seen Bear Grylls teaching the tricks of survival in the toughest situations in Discovery Channel’s program Man vs Wild. Bear Grylls has been teaching people such skills on the TV screen as how to escape from animals in dense forests, manage water in the scorching sun, pick edible fruits from wild trees.

The matter is about Zimbabwe, thousands of miles away from India. Here in a village situated in the forests, there lived a lovely child of 7 or 8 years. The name was Tinotenda Pundu. Pundu had not watched Bear Grylls’ shows but he had definitely learned effective ways to survive in his short life.

Tinotenda Pundu lived in a village in northern Zimbabwe. One day he wandered from his village and went into the dense forests. 8 year old boy, neither knows the way nor anyone to help. Pundu went wandering into the middle of the forest. Now look at the coincidence, this was not a forest but actually a lion sanctuary. Its name is Matusadona National Park.

This 8 year old child’s struggle to survive began in the Matusadona National Park, inhabited by lions and amidst deadly conditions.

Pundu village is affected by drought. In the village, Pundu was not only taught how to dig the ground for water but was also taught how to identify the ground. This lesson came in handy for Pundu. He started digging the banks of the river in the forest with the help of sticks. With the water that came out of it, he started quenching his thirst and started staying alive.

💫 A boy missing & found in Matusadonha game park

A true miracle in remote Kasvisva community, Nyaminyami in rural Kariba, a community where one wrong turn could easily lead into a game park. 8-year-old Tinotenda Pudu wandered away, lost direction & unknowingly headed into the… pic.twitter.com/z19BLffTZW

— Mutsa Murombedzi MP🇿🇼 (@mutsamu) January 1, 2025

Pundu had gone missing from his village on 27 December. Here his villagers were searching for him by playing drums. They hoped that after hearing the voice, Pundu would come in the direction of the voice and he would be found. But this effort of the villagers failed.

Actually, 8 year old Pundu had gone 50 kilometers away from his village while wandering. While the villagers were searching for him nearby. After a day or two, Pundu started feeling unconscious with hunger, so he started eating wild fruits. This fruit is known as Tsvanzva in Zimbabwe.

Describing Pundu’s intelligence, the local MP says that he was so smart that he used to sleep on high rocks so that lions and other wildlife could not reach him.

Five days later, Tinotenda heard the sound of the park ranger’s car and ran towards it, but by the time he reached there, the car was gone.

Thankfully, rangers returned later and saw child-sized footprints and soon found him.

According to local media, he was taken to hospital and put on a drip.

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 8 lions. Very scary place.
This boy is blessed. Very glad he made it home ❤️ pic.twitter.com/S5JycuxanZ

— Chipo Dendere (@drDendere) January 1, 2025

“It is estimated that he walked 49 kilometers from his village through dense forests of the lion-filled Matusadona National Park to the point where he was found,” Zimparks spokesperson Tinashe Faravo said.

Rangers and police started searching for Tinotenda immediately after receiving information about his disappearance.

Local MP Murombedzi said villagers also helped in the search. He said it was a ‘miracle’ that he survived alone for so long in a dangerous area.

Tinotenda’s story was shared on social media, with one person posting, ‘This is an incredibly lucky boy. We went camping in that game park and our guide told us that the most dangerous lions are there. We saw a pride of eight lions. That’s a very scary place’

Zimbabwe’s Matusadona National Park is home to many wild animals including lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo.