A Zimbabwean farmer who was pinned to the ground by a lion cannot believe he escaped with nothing but a hand bite.

Joel Ngwenya was leapt on by the big cat in the Jambezi district near the country's near Hwange National Park on Tuesday.

After launching at him once the lioness retreated to check on her cub before pouncing on the farmer for a second time.

Incredibly the 54-year-old escaped with nothing but a bite on his hand after the animal inexplicably decided to cut short its terrifying attack, according to the Bulawayo Chronicle.

Recounting the tense encounter Mr Ngwenya said the animal stared directly at him before making its lunge.

He said: 'It looked straight into my eyes and started roaring while approaching me steadily.

'At that moment, intense fear engulfed me and I started sweating.
'It then came on top of me.

'I looked at it straight into its eyes too. It just stood there looking at me.'

The lion walked away to check on its cubs for a few moments before launching a second attack on Mr Ngwenya.

The stunned victim said he lay motionless on the ground in fear as the lioness started biting him.

He said he fainted during the attack and has little recollection of the moments following.

The newspaper reported that the attack happened as he was hunting for lions which had killed livestock in his village.

He had set off with four friends to track the beast but ended up getting cornered by the lioness and her cub.

Mr Ngwenya said his fellow lion hunters ran away into the bush, leaving him to face the killer animal alone.

He yesterday urged the government to work harder to protect the public from the predators.

He said: 'I would like to urge relevant authorities to do something about these lions because our lives are in great danger.'

Lions are deadly hunters which roam freely around some parts of Africa.

The strong beasts are renowned as being among the most efficient hunters on the planet.

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