Tinotenda Pudu, an eight-year-old boy, has defied all odds and survived five days in game park with lions in the remote Kasvisva community of Nyaminyami in rural Kariba, northern Zimbabwe.

According to Zimbabwean MP Mutsa Murombedzi on X, the young boy, who has been dubbed ‘the real life Mowgli’ by internet users, wandered away, lost direction and unknowingly headed into the perilous Matusadonha Game Park.

“After 5 long, harrowing days in the jungle near Hogwe River, which feeds into Ume river, the boy has been found alive by the incredible rangers from Matusadona Africa Parks,” said Murombedzi.

💫 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

Reports reveal that the boy, who had wandered 23km from home, survived roaring lions and passing elephants by sleeping on a rocky perch, eating wild fruits and accessing drinking water by digging small wells into dry river beds.

Revealing how Pudu was found, Murombedzi said the young boy heard a park rangers’ vehicle and tried to run towards the noise but it was too late to see vehicle markings in the off the beaten path in the game park.

“Then he went back to the rocky outcrop but luckily the park rangers when they were coming back they used the same path, they saw fresh little human footprints and scoured the area and found him.

“This was probably his last chance of being rescued after 5 days in the wilderness,” she said.

In her post, the MP also thanked the brave park rangers, everyone who joined in the search and the Nyaminyami community, who tirelessly beat night drums each day so Pudu could hear sound and get his direction back home .

Matusadona National Park is flanked by Lake Kariba in the north, and two perennial rivers, the Ume and the Sanyati.

It was proclaimed a National Park in 1975 and was once a conservation stronghold for African elephant and black rhino, with the highest density of lion in Africa. The remote, rugged national park presents enormous potential for wildlife and tourism.

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