Zimpapers Logo

Gift Moyo

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A TWENTY-FOUR-year-old Bulilima man escaped with severe injuries after a leopard attacked him while he was searching for donkeys in a bushy area.

Gift Moyo of Male Village in Dombodema area said the animal launched a surprise aerial attack on him from a tree on Wednesday at around 7AM. He was only saved by his seven dogs which fought and drove the leopard away before the big spotted cat could cause more damage. Alone in the forest and bleeding from his wounds, Moyo heroically walked for 10km back home, resting here and there along the way.

He said the animal scratched him with its paw on the head and then sunk its teeth into his left arm.

He said despite the excruciating pain, he held onto the leopard’s paw and grabbed its ear in a bid to stop the animal from devouring him.

“I left home on Wednesday morning and proceeded to Sibantubanye Farm which is about 10 kilometres away in search of my donkeys.

“Along the way, my seven dogs started barking and growling. They were about 50 metres ahead of me. When I got to where they were, I looked around but could not see anything as the path was clear,” said Moyo.

He continued with his journey and after walking a few metres he heard a tree branch snap above his head.

Moyo said he then heard a growl and when he tried to search for the source of the strange sound, the leopard jumped to the ground.

“I was startled. Before I could recover, the leopard jumped onto my head and scratched me. It then grabbed me by the left arm and I fell onto the ground. The animal maintained its grip,” said Moyo.

He said he held onto the leopard’s ear and left paw as the animal continued to growl while trying to reach for his neck.

Moyo said his dogs rushed to his aid and attacked the animal which quickly fled from the scene.

He said he remained on the ground for a couple of minutes as he was bleeding profusely.

“I was in excruciating pain but I knew that I had to get up and return home. I staggered towards a nearby stream and washed some of the blood off my body so that I would not attract other wild animals.

“I struggled to get home because I had to walk about 10 kilometres. On the way, I would stop to rest under tree shades and would sleep occasionally because of the pain,” said Moyo.

He said he was rushed to Dombodema Clinic where his wounds were sutured.

Moyo said two of his fingers were still numb as a result of the attack.

The bleeding from the wound on his arm was still persisting by yesterday.

Male’s village head, Bowel Sibanda said incidents of animal attacks on humans were not common in the area but there were isolated cases of attacks on livestock.

“People were left shaken by the incident but we hope that we won’t experience such a tragedy again. We have advised people to exercise caution when travelling through bushy areas,” he said.