A young boy has been found alive after surviving five days in a game park inhabited by lions and elephants in northern Zimbabwe, according to a member of parliament.
The ordeal began when Tinotenda Pudu wandered at least 23 km (14 miles) from home into the “perilous” Matusadona Game Park, said Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi on X.
He spent five days “sleeping on a rocky perch, amidst roaring lions, passing elephants, eating wild fruits”, she said.
Matusadona game park has about 40 lions. At one point, it had one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks.
The Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority confirmed the incident to the BBC but said the boy was seven-years-old rather than eight, as the MP had said, and walked 49 km (30 miles) from home.
Murombedzi said the boy used his knowledge of the wild and survival skills to stay alive.
Tinotenda survived his ordeal by eating wild fruit. He also dug small wells into dry riverbeds with a stick to access drinking water – a skill taught in the drought-prone area.
Members of the local Nyaminyami community started a search party and beat drums each day to try and guide him back home.
But ultimately, it was park rangers who managed to find him.
On his fifth day in the wild, Tinotenda heard a ranger’s car and ran toward it, narrowly missing it, the MP said.
Luckily, the rangers returned, spotted “fresh little human footprints,” and searched the area until they found him.
“This was probably his last chance of being rescued after five days in the wilderness,” said the MP.
The park is over 1,470 sq km (570 sq miles) and is home to zebras, elephants, hippos, lions, and antelope.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
