A young boy who went missing in a rainforest reserve in northern Zimbabwe, home to dangerous animals like lions and elephants, survived for five days by eating fruit and finding water by digging wells.

According to The Metro, Tinotenda Pundu had wandered away from his village in northern Zimbabwe on December 27 and got lost. He was found around 30 miles (50 km) away five days later, in Matusadona National Park, weak and dehydrated but alive. Tinotenda used sticks to dig into a riverbank for water, a skill taught in the drought-prone area, and ate a wild fruit known as tsvanzva.

Describing the story of the 8-year-old Tinotenda Pudu, local member of parliament P Mutsa Murombedzi wrote that “he wandered away, lost direction & 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. His ordeal, wandering 23 km from home, sleeping on a rocky perch amidst roaring lions, passing elephants, eating wild fruits, and just the unforgiving wild, is too much for an 8-year-old.”

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

Matusadona game park has about 40 lions. At one point, it had one of the highest lion population densities in Africa, according to African Parks.

“We are overwhelmed with gratitude to the brave park rangers, the tireless Nyaminyami community, who beat night drums each day to get the boy to hear sound & get the direction back home, & everyone who joined the search. Above all, we thank God for watching over Tinotenda and leading him back home safely. This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer, and never giving up,” the MP wrote, thanking the rangers.

Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, a comedian who appeared on the extreme Japanese game show ‘A Life In Prizes’, has given very painful details of his 15-month ordeal, which included being videotaped eating dog food, being held in total seclusion, and having to compete in tasks to survive. The show, which debuted in 1998, attracted up to 30 million people at its height and became an international hit.

Nasubi, who stayed naked during the broadcast, was locked in an empty apartment and had to win prizes to meet basic needs like food. He was unaware that his actions were being broadcast to millions across Japan. His story is now featured in a Hulu documentary titled The Contestant.

“I came across his story when I was working on a different project and got lost down one of those internet rabbit holes,” Clair Titley, director of The Contestant, told BBC.

“But I found that a lot of what I had come across was almost derogatory. Nothing had really talked about Nasubi’s story in depth. [I had] all these questions, such as, Why did he stay in there, and what effect it had on him. So I contacted him with that premise, that I wanted to make a film about his experience.”

Nasubi, who is now 48, claimed that he was left feeling nervous and confused by the lack of information provided by the producers. Only a phone for emergencies was provided to him, and he had to write 300 sweepstakes entries every day to win necessities like crackers, which prevented him from going hungry. It took him three weeks to earn his first reward.

Nasubi admitted that, while initially excited, he soon became overwhelmed by the loneliness and isolation. “The hardest part was definitely the loneliness,” he said, adding that he struggled to overcome it.