A young boy in Zimbabwe was rescued from a “lion-infested” national park after going missing for five days. Tinotenda Pudu, 7, went missing from his village in the northwest of the country on December 27.

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.

The child, who was found 49km from his village, survived on wild fruit and water that he dug from a dry river bank.View on euronews

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.

A young boy was found alive in the "lion infested" Matusadona National Park in Zimbabwe after he went missing for several days.