An eight-year-old Zimbabwean boy survived five days in the Matusadona game park where lions live

Murombedzi said the boy used his wild knowledge and survival skills to survive.

Tinotenda survived the ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also used a stick to dig small wells in dry riverbeds to obtain drinking water—a practice practiced in a drought-prone area.

Members of the local Nyaminyami community started a search party and beat drums every day to bring him home.

But in the end, it was the park rangers who managed to find him.

On his fifth day in the wild, Tinotenda heard the sound of a ranger’s car and ran towards it, the deputy said.

Fortunately, the rangers returned and saw “fresh small human footprints” and searched the area until they found him.

“This was probably his last chance to escape after 5 days in the desert,” said the deputy.

The park is over 1,470 square kilometers (570 square miles) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions and antelopes.

People on social networks are praising the young man for his resilience.

“This is beyond human reason,” wrote one person on X.

Another user wrote: “She’s going to have one hell of a story to tell when she goes back to school.”