Tinotenda Pudu, 7, went missing from his village in the northwest of the country on December 27. He was eventually found in the Matusadona National Park after a rescue mission involving park rangers, police and the local community, according to a spokesperson from Zimbabwe Parks, the country’s parks and wildlife management authority.

A missing boy has been found alive after spending nearly a week alone in a northern Zimbabwe game park filled with lions, elephants and other wild animals, local officials said. On Wednesday, Jan. 1, Mutsa Murombedzi, a member of Zimbabwe's parliament, shared news of the “true miracle” on social media.

After five "long (and) harrowing days" in the jungle near the Hogwe River, which feeds into Ume River, park rangers found the boy alive on Dec. 31, Murombedzi and park officials said. While lost in the park, the boy slept on a rocky perch, evaded lions, passed elephants and ate wild fruits, according to Murombedzi.

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.

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.