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Joseph Madzimure Senior Reporter
THREE boys cheated death over the weekend after they were attacked by two lions in Chief Musikavanhu’s area in Chipinge.

Two of them were injured while the other escaped unharmed.

One of the victims was released from hospital yesterday, while the second is recovering from injuries sustained during the attack.

The boys, who were on their way to a crop field, were attacked as they passed through a place where the lions were feasting on a donkey they had killed earlier.

The lions are suspected to have strayed from nearby game parks.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo confirmed the incident yesterday saying: “Our animals are overpopulated and they then encroach into human settlements in search of water and food.”

The incident came after wild animals have killed 20 people in the last three months and injured the same number, including the two boys.

Lions are understood to be presently terrorising villagers in Bikita, where they are killing cattle and ZimParks has since deployed officers to the district to monitor the situation.

Mr Farawo said the human-wildlife conflicts were expected to escalate as Zimbabwe moved into winter, when there was a shortage of water and food in game parks, resulting animals moving into communities.

He expressed concern over the damage inflicted by wild animals in communities which were also losing crops to buffaloes and elephants and urged people to provide ZimParks with information so that they could be assisted quickly.

In rare cases, troublesome animals are put down while in others, they are scared away.