Zimbabwe man survives 'face to face' lion attack

[July 14, 2012]  HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- 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.

[Associated Press]

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