TODDLER (2) MAULED BY HYENA AT MHLUME

SITEKI – Amid reports of a lion roaming freely around Mhlume, another wild animal believed to be a hyena has mauled a toddler in the same area.

The two-year-old child sustained serious injuries to the head and was admitted to Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki.
The child was reportedly playing with friends outside her aunt’s flat at a place called Section 1 in Mhlume, when she was attacked by the hyena, which is popularly known as a scavenging carnivore.
According to Fikelephi Manyatsi, the caretaker of the child, the hyena sunk all its long canines into the head of the child and further attempted to drag her away.

However, it was prevented from taking the child away by Manyatsi and other people, who fearlessly fought the hyena until it gave up its ‘prey’ and let go of the child.
“At some point, a large portion of the child’s head was inside the mouth of the animal. When we tried to hit the animal with sticks, it sunk its teeth deeper into the head of the child, dragging her away,” she stated while standing by the side of the child’s hospital bed.

She further said she was certain that the animal which mauled the child was a hyena because she knows whatw such animals look like.
Narrating how the attack unfolded, Manyatsi said she was busy with some house chores when the toddler and her older siblings went out of the house to play with a neighbour’s child.
She said while the children were playing, she overheard the older one (four-year-old) screaming and calling for help.

“When I rushed outside, I found the hyena trying to drag the child away.
“I then grabbed a stick and hit it hard on the body. Neighbours also assisted me in beating the animal,” she stated.
She said they hit the hyena repeatedly but it refused to let go of the child.

Amid that standoff, Manyatsi said they continued hitting the hyena, not fearing that it might attack them.
She said their main aim was to set the toddler free from the clutches of the hyena.

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