Felix Zunde
BIKITA – A brave man recently involved himself in a drama of Biblical Samson-style proportions and became a local model of a Thai warrior when he used his bare hands to fight a pack of vicious and hungry hyenas that swarmed his homestead in the night to attack his cattle.
Fellow villagers told TellZim News that George Mukonza responded to the call of duty after hearing the hyenas laughing all over his homestead.
The incident happened in Mukonza village under headman Chirorwe, whose mountainous area has seen many villagers suffering heavy losses to the rampaging nocturnal predators.
Though Mukonza has been discharged from Silveira Mission Hospital where he was rushed for treatment, TellZim News could not get in touch with him as he is said to be still recuperating and not ready to relate the incidence to the media just as yet.
Sources, however, said the hyenas attacked Mukonza after he disrupted their ravenous plans to feast on his livestock, the very wealthy on which livelihood depends.
“Mukonza found himself mobbed by a hungry pack of smiling canines. Neighbours and his two children Tatenda and Trymore rushed to the scene and found him on the ground bleeding but fighting fiercely. Had it not been for their timely intervention, the man could be history by now,” said a source.
The source said Mukonza escaped with a mauled hand and a bruised body after the hyenas scurried away as more people began to attack them.
Many people including the young are experiencing sleepless nights guarding their livestock against the marauding predators which are said to be escaping from Devuli Ranch.
The disgusting predators hibernate during day and start roaming during the night, attacking goats and cattle in the villages.
“In Magahane Mountain, they start laughing and roaming around Mupatausingazibwi as early as six o’clock in the evening. People have already put in place a curfew. In Gangare alone, Antony Jangano, an Agritex officer and Winnie Chauke, a farmer have lost nearly twenty cattle,” said another source.
No comment could immediately be obtained from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) by the time of going to press.top news
