A 40-year-old Zimbabwean woman is lucky to be alive after a zebra that her family has been rearing for the past 10 years bit off part of her breast and her thumb.

The victim, Mrs Anne Mhidza of Maronder area outside Beit Bridge, managed to escape from “the jaws of death” after getting the zebra to release its vice-like grip by forcing open its mouth. She is now recovering at a local hospital.

Narrating the ordeal from her hospital bed last week, Mhidza said a herd boy employed by her family picked up the zebra while it was still a foal some 10 years ago. She said they decided to rear it along with their cattle. “We were shocked last week when the zebra bit one of the cows in the hindquarters as they were grazing,” she said. “The cow bled profusely and later died. Just recently it also attacked another cow and instinctively, I threw a brick at it.”

She said the zebra then abandoned the cow and charged at her.

“I managed to run for about 40 metres, but it caught up with me and subsequently pounced on my chest, biting off part of my breast. While I was calling out for help, I tried to force open its mouth using my hands and it bit off my thumb,” she said. The victim’s relatives later rushed to the scene and stoned the zebra, which retreated to a nearby bush as it munched the thumb.

Villagers in the area immediately telephoned the local Parks and Wildlife Management Authority officials who promptly responded by dispatching a team to kill it.

Parks and Wildlife Management spokesperson, Mrs Caroline Washaya-Moyo confirmed the incident, saying domesticating wild animals was not only against the law, but is also dangerous.