A 16-YEAR-OLD-BOY from Hlanganani village under Chief Mvuthu near Victoria Falls on Tuesday survived a lion attack after he confronted the wild beast when it attacked one of the cows he was herding.
Narrating his ordeal to Southern Eye yesterday, Khulekani Ndlovu said he was herding cattle with his friends in the afternoon when a female lion attacked one of the cows.
The herdboys tried to scare the lion away, but it charged at them, forcing them to flee in different directions.
“When we tried to scare it away, it left the cow and began chasing me. As I ran away, it attacked me on the left leg. My colleague tried to stop it from attacking me,” Ndlovu said.
“I think as I was running away, I took the direction of its cubs and that could have been the reason it then pursued me. The cattle got scared and started running in different directions. The lion then disappeared,” he said.
Local tour operator Christopher Ndiweni transported the boy to Victoria Falls Hospital for medical attention.
A villager told Southern Eye that lions were a serious threat to humans and livestock in the area.
“The lions are a problem and we fear that this time there will be more problems from this lioness considering that it has cubs. The area they were herding cattle from has tall grass and it's the lioness hunting ground.
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“In about six months the cubs would be grown up and it means more problems for the village,” he said.
Efforts to get comment from Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo were fruitless.
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