10 Feral Human Children Raised by Animals

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10 Feral Human Children Raised by Animals

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Come on, poor babe:

Some powerful spirit instruct the kites and ravens

To be thy nurses! Wolves and bears, they say,

Casting their savageness aside, have done

Like offices of pity.(Shakespeare)

A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has

no (or little) experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language.

Some feral children have been confined by people (usually their own parents); in some cases this child

abandonment was due to the parents rejection of a childs severe intellectual or physical impairment.

Feral children may have experienced severe child abuse or trauma before being abandoned or running

away. Others are alleged to have been brought up by animals; some are said to have lived in the wild on

their own. Just over one hundred incidents have been reported in total, here we enumerate 10 of them

who got famous in their own times.

10. Dina Sanichar, the Indian Wolf Boy

Date found: 1867

Age when found: 6

Location: Sekandra, India

Years in the wild: 6

Animals: wolves

Dina Sanichar, one of the boys who lived at the Sekandra orphanage, is usually assumed to have been

mentally sub-normal. He was removed from a wolves cave in 1867 when he was about six years old.

Dina Sanichar was discovered when hunters in the jungles of Bulandshahr were astonished to see a boy

follow a wolf into her den, running on all fours. They smoked out the wolf and her companion and shotthe wolf.

He initially exhibited all the habits of a wild animal, tearing off clothes and eating food from the ground.

He was eventually weaned off raw meat onto cooked, but never did learn to speak. He apparently

became addicted to tobacco. Dina Sanichar died in 1895.


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9. Kamala and Amala, the Wolf Girls of Midnapore

Date found: 1920

Age when found: 8 (Kamala), 1.5 (Amala)

Location: Midnapore, India

Years in the wild: 8, 1

Animals: wolves

Perhaps one of the best-known and controversial stories of feral children is that of Amala and Kamala.

Kamala and Amala are two of the most interesting cases of feral children. The wolf girls were about 18

months (Amala) and eight years old (Kamala) when they were found together in a wolves den.

However, it is believed that they were not sisters, but were abandoned or taken by wolves some

years apart.

In that year, Reverend Joseph Singh, a missionary in charge of an orphanage in Northern India, heard of

two ghostly spirit figures seen accompanying a band of wolves near Midnapore in the Bengal jungle. The

local villagers were fearful of these apparitions but local custom forbid them to do any harm to the

wolves. Intrigued, Singh built a hide in a tree top over-looking the lair of the wolf pack, an old ten-foot

high termite mound that had become hollowed out with time. As the moon rose, Singh saw the wolves

come out one by one. Then sticking their heads out briefly to sniff the night air before bounding

forwards into the clearing came two hunched and horrible figures. As Singh described the ghosts in his

diary, they were: Hideous lookinghand, foot and body like a human being; but the head was a big ball

of something covering the shoulders and the upper portion of the bustTheir eyes were bright and

piercing, unlike human eyesBoth of them ran on all fours.

The girls seemed to have no trace of humanness in the way they acted and thought. It was as if they had

the minds of wolves. They tore off any clothes put on them and would only eat raw meat. They slept

curled up together in a tight ball and growled and twitched in their sleep. They only came awake after

the moon rose and howled to be let free again. They had spent so long on all fours that their tendons

and joints had shortened to the point where it was impossible for them to straighten their legs and even

attempt to walk upright. They never smiled or showed any interest in human company. The only

emotion that crossed their faces was fear. Even their senses had become wolf-like. Singh claimed their

eyes were supernaturally sharp at night and would glow in the dark like a cats. They could smell a lumpof meat right across the orphanages three acre yard. Their hearing was also sharp except, like Victor,

the voice of humans seemed strangely inaudible to their ears.

A poor but relatively well educated man, Singh did his best to rehabilitate his charges. Influenced by the

horticultural model of child development, he theorised that the wolf habits acquired by Kamala and

Amala had somehow blocked the free expression of their innate human characteristics. Singh felt it was


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his job (not least, for religious reasons) to wean the girls from their lupine ways and so allow their buried

humanity to emerge. Unhappily, before his experiment had progressed far, the younger girl, Amala,

sickened and died. This proved a great set-back to Kamala, who had only just started to lose her fear of

other humans and her orphanage surroundings. Kamala went into a prolonged mourning and for a

while, Singh feared for her life as well. But eventually Kamala recovered and Singh started a patient

programme of rehabilitation.
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8. Daniel, The Andes Goat Boy

Date found: 1990

Age when found: 12

Location: Andes, Per


Animals: goats

The Andes Goat-Boy was found in the Andes, Peru, in 1990, and was said to have been raised by goats

for eight years. He is supposed to have survived by drinking their milk, and eating roots and berries.

Being in wild, he developed the obvious feral characteristics.

He tended to walk with all his 4 limbs, his hands and feet were hardened due to scar formation thatacted like his hoofs. He could communicate with goats and could not learn human language.

After being found, the Andes Goat-Boy was investigated by a team from Kansas University (The

University of Kansas or Kansas State University) and named Daniel.
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7. The Syrian Gazelle BoyDate found: 1946

Age when found: around 10

Location: Syrian desert


Animals: gazelles

A boy aged around 10 was found in the midst of a herd of gazelles in the Syrian desert, and was only

caught with the help of an Iraqi army jeep, because he could run at speeds of up to 50 kph. Although

terribly thin, he was said to have been extremely fit and strong, with muscles of steel. He was captured

and bound hand and foot.

Armen says the Syrian Gazelle-Boy was still alive in 1955, when he (the boy) made an attempt to escape

from whichever unpleasant state institution he was incarcerated in. I wont offend your sensibilities by

telling you what they did to him to stop him escaping again.

The Life Magazine story of 9 September 1946 agrees pretty much with the other reports. It states that

the previous month, a group of hunters found a boy running wild with a herd of gazelles in the Syrian

steppes. About 10 14 years old at the time of discovery, he was believed to have been abandoned as a

baby. He was taken to an asylum for the insane. Sunday Express, puts the same story but says boys

speed of 50 mph, not 50 kph.
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6. Bello, the Nigerian Chimp Boy

Date found: 1996

Age when found: 2

Location: Nigeria


Animals: chimps

Bello, the Nigerian Chimp Boy was found in 1996, at the age of about two. Both mentally and physically

disabled, he had probably been abandoned by his parents at the age of about six months, a common

practice with disabled children among the Fulani, a nomadic people who range great distances over the

west African Sahel region.

Believed to have been adopted and raised by chimpanzees, Bello was found with a chimpanzee family in

the Falgore forest, 150 km south of Kano in northern Nigeria. When the story reached the news agencies

some six years later in 2002, Bello had been living at the Tudun Maliki Torrey home in Kano.

When first discovered, Bello walked like a chimpanzee, using his legs but dragging his arms on the

ground. He would leap about at night in the dormitory, disturbing the other children, smashing and

throwing things. Six years later Bello was much calmer, but would still leap around in a chimpanzee-like

fashion, make chimpanzee-like noises, and clap his cupped hands over his head repeatedly. Bello died in

2005.


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5. John Ssebunya, the Ugandan Monkey Boy

Date found: 1991

Age when found: 6

Location: Uganda


Animals: monkeys

John Ssebunya was born in the mid 1980s, but ran away from home (probably aged around three) after

seeing his mother murdered by his own father. It is generally accepted that John Ssebunya was cared for

at least to some extent by green African (vervet) monkeys while in the jungle. John was found by a

tribeswoman or girl (called Millie) in 1991, hiding in a tree. She returned with menfolk from the village

and, as is so often the case, not only did John resist capture but also his adoptive family came to his

defence, throwing sticks at the villagers.

Initial reports suggest John Ssebunyas entire body was covered with hair called hypertrichosis. When he

defecated, he excreted worms over half a metre long. Once captured and cleaned up he was covered

in scars and wounds, with knees scarred from crawling he was identified as John Ssebunya. He was

given by Millie to the care of Paul and Molly Wasswa, who run a charitable foundation for orphans. He

couldnt talk or cry initially, but has subsequently learned to speak. This suggests that he may have

learned some speech before his stay in the wild.

John now not only talks but also sings, and tours with the Pearl of Africa childrens choir. John was thesubject of the BBC documentary Living Proof, screened on 13 October 1999.


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4. Traian Caldarar, the Romanian Dog Boy

Date found: 2002

Age when found: 7

Location: Brasov, Romnia


Animals: dogs

Traian Caldarar is a Romanian boy who apparently lived wild, separated from his family, for three years.

He is believed to have left the family home because of domestic violence. His mother, Lina Caldarar, said

that she loved her son but had a violent partner, who was always beating her. When she lost Traian, she

was distraught, and hoped he had perhaps been adopted by another family. She said: When I fled, I lost

contact with Traian, although I tried to get him back. He *the boy's father+ didnt allow me to take my

child, even though I tried to. He said the child belonged to him.

Although aged seven when he was found, Traian Caldarar was only the size of a three-year-old, could

not speak, and was naked and living in a cardboard box covered with a polythene sheet. He suffered

from severe rickets, had infected injuries and his circulation was poor, possibly because of frostbite.

Doctors believe it would have been impossible for Traian to survive on his own and speculated that he

received assistance from the many stray dogs in the Transylvanian countryside. He was found near the

body of a dog that he had apparently been eating.

Traian Caldarar was found after the car of a shepherd, Manolescu Ioan, broke down. Mr Ioan had towalk from his pastures and came across child who he reported to police, who later captured the boy.

Traian walked with the bandy gait of a chimpanzee and tried to sleep under his bed rather than on it. Dr

Mircea Florea said: He was found in an animal position and his movements are animalistic. The facts

show that he was not brought up in a social environment. He becomes very agitated when he does not

have food. He is looking for something to eat all the time. He sleeps after he eats.


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3. Rochom Pngieng, Cambodian Jungle Girl

Date found: 2007

Age when found: 29

Location: Cambodian Jungle


Animals: various animals

The so-called Cambodian Jungle girl is a Cambodian woman who emerged from the jungle in Ratanakiri

province, Cambodia on January 13, 2007. A family in a nearby village claimed that the woman was their

daughter Rochom Pngieng (born 1979) age 29 or 30 who had disappeared 18 or 19 years previously; thestory was covered in most media as one of a feral child who lived in the jungle for most of her life.

She came to international attention after emerging filthy, naked and scared from the dense jungle of

Ratanakiri province in remote northeastern Cambodia on January 13, 2007. After a villager noticed food

missing from a lunch box, he staked out the area, spotted the woman, gathered some friends and

caught her.

She was recognised by her father, policeman Ksor Lu long, because of a scar on her back. He said

Rochom Pngieng was lost in the Cambodian jungle at the age of eight when herding buffalo with her six-

year-old sister (who also disappeared). One week after being discovered, she experienced difficulties

adjusting to civilized life. Local police reported that she was only able to say three words: father,

mother and stomachache. A Spanish psychologist who visited the girl reported that she made some

words and smiled in response to a game involving toy animals and a mirror but did not speak any

recognizable language. When she was thirsty or hungry, she pointed at her mouth. She preferred to

crawl rather than walk upright. The family watched Rochom Pngieng around the clock to make sure she

did not run off back to the jungle, as she tried to do several times. Her mother constantly had to pull

back on the clothes when she tried to take them off. A visiting Guardian reporter described the family as

genuinely caring for her and the woman as listless and sad but restless at night. In May 2010, Rochom

Pngieng has fled back to the jungle. Despite the searching they have not managed to recover her.


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2. The Russian Bird Boy

Date found: 2008

Age when found: 7

Location: Volgograd, Russia


Animals: birds

In 2008, Russian care workers rescued a seven-year-old bird-boy who could communicate only by

chirping after his mother raised him in a virtual aviary, it has been reported. Authorities said the

neglected child was found living in a tiny two-room apartment surrounded by cages containing dozens

of birds, bird feed and droppings.

The so-called bird-boy did not understand any human language and communicates instead by chirping

and flapping his arms, Russian newspaper Pravda reported. Social worker Galina Volskaya, who was

involved is rescuing the child from his home in Kirovsky, Volgograd, said he was treated like another pet

by his 31-year-old mother who never spoke to him. Miss Volskaya said: When you start talking to him,

he chirps.

Russian authorities say the child was not physically harmed but is suffering from Mowgli syndrome,

named after the Jungle Book character raised by wild animals, and cannot engage in any normal human

communication.

Pravda reported: (his mother) had her own domestic birds and fed wild ones. (She) neither beat him

nor left him without food. She just never talked to him. It was all the birds that communicated with the

boy and taught him birds language. He just chirps and when realising that he is not understood, and

starts to wave hands in the way birds winnow wings. The boys mother signed an abdication form to

release the child into care after he was discovered. He was temporarily transferred to an asylum, but

later soon was sent to the centre of psychological care, according to reports.


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1. Oxana Malaya, The Ukrainian Dog GirlDate found: 1991

Age when found: 8

Location: Blagoveshchenka, Ukraine


Animals: dogs

Not really either a feral child or a confined child, but rather a neglected one, Oxana Malaya spent much

of her childhood between the ages of 3 and 8 living in a kennel in the back garden of the family home in

Novaya Blagoveschenka, Ukraine, although she did spend some time in the house with her alcholic and

neglectful parents.

Oxanas alcoholic parents were unable to care for her, and at three years of age she was exiled from her

home. They lived in an impoverished area where there were wild dogs roaming the streets. She took

refuge in a shed inhabited by these dogs behind her house. She was cared for by them and learned their

behaviors and mannerisms. The bonding with the pack of dogs was so strong that the authorities who

came to rescue her were driven away in the first attempt by the dogs. Her actions and sounds mimicked

those of her carers. She growled, barked, walked on all fours and crouched like a wild dog, sniffed at her

food before she ate it, and was found to have acquired extremely acute senses of hearing, smell and

sight. She only knew how to say yes and no when she was rescued.

When she was discovered, Oxana found it difficult to acquire normal human social and emotional skills.She had been deprived of intellectual and social stimulation, and her only emotional support had come

from the dogs she lived with. Oxanas lack of exposure to language in a social context made it very

difficult for her to improve her language skills. When first found in 1991 she could hardly speak.

As of 2010 at the age of 26, Oxana resides at a home for the mentally handicapped, where she helps

look after the cows in the clinics farm. She has expressed that she is happiest when among dogs.


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On the trail that thou must tread

To the threshold of' our dread,

Where the Flower blossoms red;

Through the nights when thou shalt lie

'Prisoned from our Mother-sky,

Hearing us, thy loves, go by-,

In the dawns, when thou shalt wake

"To the toil thou canst not break,

Heartsick for the jungle's sake;

Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,

Jungle-Favour go with thee! (Kipling)
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10 Feral Human Children Raised by Animals

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