Gutu woman loses arm in hyena attack

IN the second such case to be recorded in Masvingo province this year, a 38-year-old woman from Gutu last Wednesday lost her left hand and big toe of the left leg after being attacked by a hyena.

Joice Marutaya of Matendere village under Chief Mataruse is recovering at Masvingo General Hospital after being attacked by the lone hyena around 7am in her garden on the banks of Nyazvidzi River.

It is suspected that the same hyena had wreaked havoc in the neighbourhood the previous night destroying a makeshift engine room belonging to another villager as evidenced by footprints around the site, as well as attacking cattle belonging to Marutaya’s neighbours, who woke up to find the livestock mauled around their mouths and noses.

The neighbours had feared going out in the night as the cattle were bellowing in distress during the attack.

Narrating her ordeal, which has turned her life into a nightmare, from her hospital bed on Tuesday, the mother of four said she had gone to water vegetables in her garden when the incident occurred.

She said soon after entering the garden, she noticed the hyena busy tearing into a worn out bomber jacket a few metres away.

“I realised something was amiss because the animal was behaving strangely and I immediately crouched to avoid being spotted, but as soon as it was through with the jacket, it sauntered towards the garden entrance and I knew it was coming for me,” she said.

“I dashed to grab a hoe to try and defend myself but as I turned soon after picking it up, the hyena was upon me, tearing into my left hand.”

Marutaya said she struck out at the hyena while screaming for help. The hyena then bit the hoe handle while she fell to the ground. At the same time the hoe came off the handle.

As she dived for the hoe handle, the hyena went for her left hand again, snapping it off clean from her forearm. Using her right hand which had also suffered some injuries, Marutaya kept hitting the hyena which had now turned to her legs, biting off chunks of flesh and big toe on her left leg.

Some neighbours who were inspecting livestock by their pen responded to her screams for help and rushed to the garden and managed to scare off the hyena.

“It ran into a nearby mangrove, but as people were busy trying to help me, it came back at full speed only to come to a screeching halt by the garden entrance after facing a barrage of stones being thrown by my rescuers,” said Marutaya.

“It ran back into the mangrove, but as they were carrying me out the garden entrance, it came back again, but because of the commotion, it retreated for the second time. By then my husband had arrived with a scotch cart to take me to the main road.” — New Ziana.

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