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Zimbabwe man survives 'face to face' lion attack


Published July 14, 2012

Associated Press




HARARE, Zimbabwe – A Zimbabwean state-run newspaper reports a farmer is recovering after surviving a lion attack in the remote northwest of the country.

The Chronicle reported Saturday that a lioness pounced on farmer Joel Ngwenya near the Hwange nature preserve, goring his arms and upper body and leaving him unconscious. Lions had been preying on livestock in the district.

"The lioness looked straight into my eyes, staring and roaring," Ngwenya told the paper from a hospital.

It pinned him down with its claws and continued staring at him "face to face," he said. The lioness briefly moved away toward a lion cub then turned back on him.

He regained consciousness, realizing "it just left me lying down and went away," the paper further quoted him as saying.

http://www.chronicle.co.zw/ind...p-stories&Itemid=130


Man survives lioness attack

Friday, 13 July 2012 20:02

Chronicle Correspondent

A man from Jambezi in Hwange District is lucky to be alive after surviving an attack by a lioness.

Mr Joel Ngwenya, who is in his 50s, is full of praise for the Lord after escaping from the jaws of death on Tuesday when a lioness attacked him in the bush near his homestead.

Narrating his ordeal to Chronicle on Thursday at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) where he is admitted, Mr Ngwenya said he is still in pain.

"Lions have been causing terror in my area. A week ago they killed five of my beasts in one night. They also devoured another on Monday night," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said on Tuesday morning he launched a quest to search for the lions.

"Five villagers and I went out to look for the lions to try and save our livestock. As we were in the bush, we came face to face with a lioness," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said before he could come to grips with the situation, the other villagers had already fled from the scene.

"The lioness looked straight into my eyes and started roaring while approaching me steadily. At that moment intense fear engulfed me and I started sweating," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said the lioness then sprang towards him and pushed him down with its claws.

"It then came on top of me. I looked at it straight into its eyes too. It just stood still while looking at me," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said after a moment the lioness suddenly went away without doing anything to him. However, he could not run away as he was weak because of fear.

"It moved about 10 metres away to check on its cub and then came back. At that time it started biting me on both my arms," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said during that moment he fell unconscious.

"I don't know what happened and it just left me lying down and went away," said Mr Ngwenya.

He said he lost his mobile phone during the scuffle with the lioness.

"I lay there for sometime before other villagers came to my rescue, I guess they were still afraid that the lioness was still within the vicinity," said Mr Ngwenya.

He was later rushed to Victoria Falls District Hospital before being transferred to UBH, where he is recovering.

Mr Ngwenya said he suspected the lions could have escaped from Hwange National Park.

"I would like to urge relevant authorities to do something about these lions because our lives are in great danger," said Mr Ngwenya.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:



He said he lost his mobile phone during the scuffle with the lioness.

Nothing more important to the average Zimbabwean than his cellphone. The other day I was handing a few coins to a very shabby beggar downtown, when his cellphone rang. He couldn't decide whether to take the call or money!

A couple years ago a guy was walking the stretch of road between Chirundu hovel, I mean town, and the croc farm/old sugar estates, pushing a wheelbarrow, at last light. Not a smart move to be walking around at last light in that neck of the woods, as he discovered when he was attacked by a lioness. Incredibly, he kept the wheelbarrow between himself and the lioness throughout the attack, fending her off each time she lunged. After a few mouthfuls of hard metal, the cat gave up and disappeared into the bush. I tried to track the guy down when I passed through Chirundu, but was told he was looking for a job in Harare. I was actually looking into all the lion attacks that had taken place in and around Chirundu at the time, so spoke to several reliable sources about the incident, and I have no doubt it happened. I don't believe the attack lasted 20 minutes, as he told everyone, but we all know how adrenalin can draw out a moment, right?

6 people were killed by lions in and around Chirundu in 2009, I am pretty sure it was 5 more in and around Kanyemba late 2009/early 2010, including a ranger chap who had been sent to shoot the man-eaters. Every attack was after dark except for one, so I'm told, and that was at sunset - a fisherman returning to his home close to Kanyemba. The moral of the story is that lions become different creatures at night, fearing nothing. However, it's not that much of a surprise that Mr Ngwenya got a going over during daylight hours, given that there was at least one cub in the equation, and that the lioness was undoubtedly feeding on one of his beasts when he and his merry men came sauntering along. What is a mind-blow is that it grabbed him but didn't kill him. The power of the crocodile (ngwenya)! Can you just imagine how influential/powerful Mr Ngwenya has become in his community? You see, he won't just be a fortunate fella who survived a lion attack, there will be an involved explanation as to why he survived. I would hazard a calculated guess and say the lion was repelled by the powers of Mr Ngwenya's forefathers, and I doubt very much that anyone in his village will tangle with him again. He should live a peaceful, untroubled life from hereon, unless he decides to head off again with his merry men to sort out more lions....But hopefully he has learned something from the experience - one can't call up one's forefathers every other week, after all...

Unbelievable, but stranger things have happened. I have a good friend who had a wounded lion gnawing on his kneecap, when it inexplicably decided to leave him be and head off. Who knows? When it's your time it's your time, and when it's not it's not....