Boy Lost 5 Days in Zimbabwe's Lion Country Found Alive After Digging for Water

In late December 2024, a young boy wandered away from his rural village in northern Zimbabwe and ended up in Matusadona National Park, a wilderness known for its lions. Five days later, rangers found him alive.¹

He kept himself going on wild fruit and on water he reached by digging small holes in a dry riverbank, according to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks). The technique is well known in drought-prone areas, and a local lawmaker credited it with his survival.¹³

Matusadona covers about 1,470 square kilometers in the Kariba district. It once held the highest density of lions in Africa, and it is still home to lions, leopards, buffalo, zebras, elephants, hippos and antelope, according to the conservation group African Parks.¹

How the search unfolded

ZimParks said the boy was reported missing from his home on Dec. 27, 2024. Park rangers, police and people from his community started searching right away, but heavy rain slowed them down.¹

While the search went on, villagers beat drums at night each day, hoping he would hear them and follow the sound home.¹³

On Dec. 30, searchers found human footprints in the park, in the Sakata Valley area. Rangers followed them and found the boy early on Dec. 31.¹² Mutsa Murombedzi, the member of parliament for Mashonaland West, said the rescuers were rangers from Matusadona Africa Parks who could go deeper into the wilderness.²³

Just how far he went depends on who is telling it. ZimParks estimated the walk at about 49 kilometers (30 miles):¹

“Remarkably, it is estimated that he walked through the harsh terrain of the lion infested Matusadona National Park for 49 kilometers (30 miles) from his village to the point where he was found,” ZimParks said in its statement, as reported by ABC News.

Murombedzi said he had wandered 23 kilometers from his community. The two accounts also disagree on his age: ZimParks said he was seven, and Murombedzi said eight.¹⁴

A survival skill learned young

Murombedzi credited the boy’s survival to digging a mufuku, a small hole in a dry riverbank to reach underground water, a technique she said he learned young.¹

She also said he slept on a rocky perch to stay away from lions and elephants.²

Back with his family

Murombedzi wrote on X that the boy “was very frail when he was rescued,” according to ABC News, and said he had to be put on an IV drip.¹ She told AFP he had no visible injuries.³

He was taken to a local clinic for a first examination, then moved to a hospital for further checks. He has since been reunited with his family.¹² A later update reported by Today said he was stable and awaiting a mental health evaluation, and Murombedzi recommended he not give interviews to spare him emotional distress.⁴

Murombedzi thanked the park rangers and the community members who joined the search. “This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer and never giving up,” she wrote on X, as quoted by ABC News.¹