On December 27, Tinotenda Pudu, 7, wandered off from his village in northwest Zimbabwe. He disappeared into Matusadona National Park, a vast area that once was noted as having "the highest density of lion in Africa" along with a huge population of elephants and black rhino. Heavy rain hampered the search for Pudu in the perilous terrain.
Several days later, rangers spotted small human footprints enabling them to narrow their search. The next morning, they found Pudu alive and uninjured.
According to authorities, he walked approximately 30 miles into the "lion-infested" park.
"During this period, he survived on wild fruits and would dig a small hole along the dry riverbank to access underground water to drink, a technique that is well known in drought prone areas," according to Zimbabwe Parks officials.
From CNN:
According to parliament member [Mutsa Murombedzi,] Tinotenda at one point heard the park rangers' vehicle and tried to run toward the noise – but was late to reach them.
Fortunately, the rangers came back to the area and saw "fresh little human footprints," which led them to the boy.
"This was probably his last chance of being rescued after 5 days in the wilderness," Murombedzi wrote.
Previously:
• Co-workers ditch colleague on Colorado hiking retreat — who falls 20 times and gets stranded
• The hilarious story of 1908 'fake rescue dog' who pushed children into the Seine and then rescued them for steak rewards
• An hour-long documentary on the Thailand cave rescue
