We all know the fairy tale about Mowgli. A little boy fell into a wolf pack and was suckled by a she-wolf. He lived among the animals and became just like them. However, such a plot does not only happen in fairy tales. In real life, there are also children fed by animals. Moreover, such incidents do not happen in remote African and Indian regions, but in densely populated areas, very close to people’s homes.

At the end of the 19th century in Italy, a village shepherd discovered a small child frolicking among a pack of wolves. Seeing the man, the animals ran away, but the baby hesitated, and the shepherd caught him.

The foundling was completely wild. He walked on all fours and had wolfish habits. The boy was placed in the Institute of Child Psychiatry in Milan. He growled and didn’t eat anything for the first few days. He looked to be about 5 years old.

It is quite understandable that a child raised in a wolf pack aroused great interest among doctors. After all, it was possible to study the psyche of a creature born as a human, but who did not receive the appropriate upbringing. And then we could try to make him a normal member of society.

However, nothing worked out. Real Mowgli children are not fairy-tale heroes. The boy ate poorly and howled sadly. He would lie motionless on the floor for hours, ignoring the bed. A year later he died. Apparently the longing for forest life was so great that the child’s heart could not stand it.

The above case is far from isolated. There have been at least three dozen of them over the past 100 years. So in the 30s of the 20th century, not far from the Indian city of Lucknow (Pradesh), a railway employee discovered a strange creature in a carriage standing at a dead end. It was a boy of about 8 years old, completely naked and with a bestial look. He did not understand human speech, moved on all fours, and his knees and palms of his hands were covered with calloused growths.

The boy was admitted to the hospital, but a month later a local fruit seller came to the clinic. He asked to be shown the child. This man's infant son disappeared 8 years ago. Apparently, he was dragged away by a wolf while the mother was sleeping with the baby in the yard on a mat. The merchant said the missing child had a small scar on his temple. So it turned out, and the boy was given to his father. But a year later the foundling died, unable to acquire human traits.

Mowgli children move on all fours

But the most famous story, which perfectly characterizes the phenomenon of Mowgli children, befell the lot of 2 Indian girls. This is Kamala and Amala. They were discovered in a wolf's den in 1920. The children felt quite comfortable among the gray predators. Doctors determined Amala's age to be 6 years old, and Kamala looked 2 years older.

The first girl died soon after, but the eldest lived to be 17 years old. And for 9 years, doctors described her life day after day. The poor thing was afraid of fire. She ate only raw meat, tearing it with her teeth. She walked on all fours. She ran leaning on her palms and soles of her feet with her knees bent. During the daytime, she preferred to sleep, and at night she wandered around the hospital building.

In the first days of their stay with people, the girls howled protractedly every night. Moreover, the howl was repeated at the same intervals. This is around 9 pm, 1 am and 3 am.

The “humanization” of Kamala took place with great difficulties. For a very long time she did not recognize any clothes. Everything they tried to put on her, she tore off. I was truly terrified of washing. At first I didn’t want to get up from all fours and walk on my feet. Only after 2 years she was able to be accustomed to this procedure, which was familiar to other people. But when it was necessary to move quickly, the girl got down on all fours.

After incredible work, Kamala was taught to sleep at night, eat with her hands and drink from a glass. But teaching her human speech turned out to be a very difficult task. In 7 years, the girl learned only 45 words, but she pronounced them with difficulty and could not construct logical phrases. By the age of 15, her mental development corresponded to that of a 2-year-old child. And at the age of 17 she barely reached the level of a 4-year-old person. She died unexpectedly. My heart just stopped. No abnormalities were found in the body.

Wild animals are humane towards small children

And here is another case that also occurred in India in the state of Assam in 1925. The hunters found in the leopard’s den, in addition to its cubs, a 5-year-old child. He growled, bit and scratched just as well as his spotted “brothers and sisters.”

In a nearby village, one family recognized him. Its members said that the father of the family, working in the field, walked away for a few minutes from his 2-year-old son, who was sleeping in the grass. Looking back, he saw a leopard with a child in its teeth disappear into the jungle. Only 3 years have passed since then, but how their little son has changed. Only after 5 years did he learn to eat from dishes and walk on his feet.

American researcher Jezell published a book whose heroes were Mowgli children. In total, it describes 14 similar cases. It is noteworthy that wolves always became the “educators” of these children. In principle, this is not surprising, since gray predators live not far from human habitation. That is why they come across small children left unattended in the forest or field.

For the beast this is prey, and he takes it to the lair. But a helpless crying baby can awaken the wolf's instinct of motherhood. Therefore, the child is not eaten, but left in the pack. First, the dominant female feeds him with milk, and then the whole flock begins to feed him with semi-digested burps from the eaten meat. On such food, children can eat off such cheeks that it’s just a sight for sore eyes.

True, one nuance arises here. After 8-9 months, the wolf cubs turn into independent young wolves. And the child continues to remain helpless. But here the gray predators’ parental instinct kicks in. They feel the baby's helplessness and continue to feed him.

A child living among wolves becomes just like them

It must be said that some scientists question the very fact of young children being among animals. But every year there is more and more such evidence. Therefore, skeptics give up their positions and begin to admit the obvious.

In conclusion, it should be noted that people deprived of human communication begin to gradually lag behind in their mental development from those who live in a normal society. The Mowgli children are proof of this. They once again confirm the well-known truth that For the development of a person, the most important age is from birth to 5 years.

It is during these years that the child’s brain masters the fundamental principles of the psyche, acquires the necessary skills and basic knowledge. If this initial 5-year period is missed, then it is almost impossible to raise a full-fledged person. The absence of speech has a particularly detrimental effect on the brain. This is precisely what a child loses in the first place by communicating with animals. To become a full-fledged person, you need to communicate with your own kind. And if you communicate with wolves or leopards, you can only become just like them.

Over 150 years ago, Sir Francis Galton coined the phrase “nature versus nurture.” At that time, the scientist researched what influences a person’s psychological development more - his heredity or the environment in which he is located. It was about behavior, habits, intelligence, personality, sexuality, aggression and so on.

Those who believe in education believe that people become such precisely because of everything that happens directly around them, the way they are taught. Opponents argue that we are all children of nature and act according to our inherent genetic predisposition and animal instinct (according to Freud).

What do you think about this? Are we a product of our environment, our genes, or both? In this complex debate, feral children are an important aspect. The term "feral children" refers to a young person who has been abandoned or found himself in a situation where he finds himself deprived of any kind of interaction with civilization.

As a result, such children usually end up among animals. They often lack social skills; they do not always acquire even such a simple skill as talking. Wild children learn based on what they see around them, but the conditions, as well as the ways of learning, differ markedly from normal conditions.

History knows several rather revealing stories of “wild children”. And these cases are much more complex and interesting than the classic story of Mowgli. These are very real people who can already be called by their names, and not by nicknames given by the sensation-hungry media.

Bello from Nigeria. This boy was nicknamed the Nigerian chimpanzee boy in the press. He was found in 1996 in the jungle of this country. No one can say with certainty exactly Bello's age; it is assumed that he was about 2 years old at the time of the discovery. The boy found in the forest turned out to be physically and mentally disabled. This is explained by his parents abandoning him at the age of six months. This practice is very common among the Fulani tribe. At such a young age, the boy, of course, could not stand up for himself. But some chimpanzees living in the forest accepted him into their tribe. As a result, the boy adopted many of the behavior traits of monkeys, in particular their walking. When Bello was found in the Falgore Forest, the discovery was not widely reported. But in 2002, a popular newspaper discovered a boy in a boarding school for abandoned children in Kano, South Africa. The news about Bello quickly became sensational. He himself often fought with other children, threw objects, and at night he jumped and ran. Six years later, the boy had already become much calmer, although he still retained many of the chimpanzee’s behavior patterns. As a result, Bello was never able to learn to speak, despite constant interaction with other children and people in his home. In 2005, the boy died for unknown reasons.

Vanya Yudin. One of the recent cases of a wild child was Vanya Yudin. News agencies nicknamed him "Russian Bird Boy." When social workers in Volgograd found him in 2008, he was 6 years old and unable to speak. The child's mother abandoned him. The boy could do practically nothing, he just chirped and folded his arms like wings. He learned this from his parrot friends. Although Vanya was not physically harmed in any way, he was incapable of human contact. His behavior became similar to that of a bird, and he expressed emotions by waving his arms. Vanya spent a long time in a two-room apartment in which dozens of his mother’s birds were kept in cages. One of the social workers who discovered Vanya, Galina Volskaya, said that the boy lived with his mother, but she never spoke to him, treating him like just another feathered pet. When people tried to talk to Vanya, he only chirped in response. Now the boy has been transferred to a psychological assistance center, where, with the help of specialists, they are trying to return him to normal life. The lack of human relationships led the child to another world.

Dean Sanichar. One of the most famous oldest cases of a wild child is Dinah, nicknamed "Indian Wolf Boy". When hunters found him in 1867, the boy was supposedly 6 years old. People noticed a pack of wolves entering the cave, and with it a man running on four legs. The men smoked the wolves out of the shelter, entering there they found Dean. The boy was found in the jungles of Bulandshahr, and an attempt was made to treat him. True, at that time there were simply no effective means and techniques. However, people tried to communicate with him in order to rid Dean of his animalistic behavior. After all, he ate raw meat, tore off his clothes and ate from the ground. And not from dishes. After some time, Dean was taught to eat cooked meat, but he never learned to speak.

Rochom Pyengeng. When this girl was 8 years old, she and her sister were herding buffalo in the Cambodian jungle and got lost. The parents had completely given up hope of seeing their daughters. 18 years have passed, on January 23, 2007, a naked girl emerged from the jungle in the province of Ratanakiri. She secretly stole food from one of the peasants. Having discovered the loss, he went hunting for the thief and found a wild man in the forest. The police were immediately called. One of the families in the village recognized the girl as their missing daughter Rochom Pyengeng. After all, there was a distinctive scar on her back. But the girl’s sister was never found. She herself miraculously managed to survive in the dense jungle. After reaching people, Roch and he worked hard to try to return him to normal living conditions. Soon she was able to pronounce some words: “mother”, “father”, “stomach pain”. The psychologist said that the girl tried to speak other words, however, it was impossible to understand them. When Rochom wanted to eat, she simply pointed to her mouth. The girl often crawled on the ground, refusing to wear clothes. As a result, she was never able to adapt to human culture, running away back into the forest in May 2010. Since then, nothing has been known about the whereabouts of the wild girl. Sometimes conflicting rumors appear. They say, for example, that she was seen in the cesspool of one of the village toilets.

Trajan Kaldarar. This famous wild child case also happened recently. Trajan, found in 2002, is more often called the Romanian dog boy or “Mowgli” after the literary character. He lived separately from his family for 3 years, starting at the age of 4. When Trajan was found at age 7, he looked 3 years old. The reason for this is extremely poor nutrition. Trajan's mother was the victim of a series of violence at the hands of her husband. It is believed that the child could not stand such an atmosphere and ran away from home. Trajan lived in the wild until he was found near Brasov, Romania. The boy found his shelter in a large cardboard box covered with leaves on top. When doctors examined Trajan, he was diagnosed with a severe case of rickets, infected wounds and poor circulation. Those who found the boy believe that stray dogs helped him survive. We found it by accident. Shepherd Ioan Manolescu's car broke down and he was forced to walk through the pastures. It was there that the man found the boy. The remains of a dog were found nearby. It is assumed that Trajan ate it in order to stay alive. When the wild boy was taken into custody, he refused to sleep on the bed, climbing under it. Trajan was also constantly hungry. When he was hungry, he became extremely irritable. After eating, the boy almost immediately went to bed. In 2007, it was reported that Troyan adapted well under the supervision of his grandfather and even studied in the 3rd grade of school. When the boy was asked about his educational institution, he said: “I like it here - there are coloring books, games, you can learn to read and write. The school has toys, cars, teddy bears and the food is very good.”

John Ssebunya. This man was nicknamed "Uganda Monkey Boy." He ran away from home at the age of three after witnessing the murder of his mother by his own father. Impressed by what he saw, John fled to the Ugandan jungle, where he is believed to have come under the care of green African monkeys. At that time the boy was only 3 years old. In 1991, John was seen hiding in a tree by a woman named Millie, his fellow tribesman. After that, she called other villagers for help. As in other similar cases, John resisted his capture in every possible way. The monkeys also helped him in this, they began to throw sticks at people, protecting their “compatriot.” However, John was caught and taken to the village. They washed him there, but his whole body was covered with hair. This disease is called hypertrichosis. It manifests itself in the presence of excessive hair in those parts of the body where there is no such usual cover. Living in the wild, John also became infected with intestinal worms. It is stated that some of them were almost half a meter in length when they were removed from his body. The foundling was full of injuries, mainly from trying to walk like a monkey. John was given to Molly and Paul Waswa in their children's home. The couple even taught the boy to speak, although many argue that he already knew how to do this before he ran away from home. John was also taught to sing. Today he tours with the children's choir "Pearls of Africa" ​​and has practically gotten rid of his animal behavior.

Kamala and Amala. The story of these two Indian young girls is one of the most famous cases of feral children. When they were found in a wolf den in Midnapore, India, in 1920, Kamala was 8 years old and Amala was 1.5 years old. The girls spent most of their lives away from people. Even though they were found together, researchers have questioned whether they were sisters. After all, they had quite a big age difference. They were just left in approximately the same place at different times. The girls were discovered after mystical stories spread throughout the village about the figures of two ghostly spirits who were taken along with wolves from the jungles of Bengal. Local residents were so afraid of the spirits that they called a priest to find out the whole truth. Reverend Joseph hid in a tree above the cave and began to wait for the wolves. When they left, he looked into their lair and saw two hunched over people. He wrote down everything he saw. The priest described the children as “disgusting creatures from head to toe.” The girls ran on all fours and had no signs of human existence. As a result, Joseph took the wild children with him, although he had no experience in adapting them. The girls slept together, curled up, tore off their clothes, ate nothing but raw meat, and howled. Their habits were reminiscent of animals. They opened their mouths, sticking out their tongues like wolves. Physically, the children were deformed - the tendons and joints in their arms became shorter, making it impossible to walk upright. Kamala and Amala had no interest in interacting with people. It is said that some of their senses worked flawlessly. This applies not only to hearing and vision, but also to a keen sense of smell. Like most Mowgli children, this couple tried in every possible way to return to their old life, feeling unhappy surrounded by people. Soon Amala died, this event caused deep mourning in her friend, Kamala even cried for the first time. Reverend Joseph thought that she too would die and began to work hard on her. As a result, Kamala barely learned to walk upright and even learned a few words. In 1929, this girl also died, this time due to kidney failure.

Victor from Aveyron. The name of this Mowgli boy will seem familiar to many. The fact is that his story formed the basis of the film "Wild Child". Some say that it was Victor who became the first documented case of autism, in any case, this is the well-known story of a child left alone with nature. In 1797, several people saw Victor wandering in the forests of Saint Sernin sur Rance, in the south of France. The wild boy was caught, but he soon ran away. He was seen again in 1798 and 1799, but was finally captured on January 8, 1800. At that time, Victor was about 12 years old, his whole body was covered with scars. The boy could not utter a word, even his origin remained a mystery. Victor ended up in a city where philosophers and scientists showed great interest in him. The news about the found wild man quickly spread throughout the country, many wanted to study him, looking for answers to questions about the origin of language and human behavior. Biology professor, Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre, decided to observe Victor's reaction by taking off his clothes and putting him right outside in the snow. The boy began to run in the snow without showing any negative effects of low temperatures on his bare skin. They say that they lived naked in the wild for 7 years. It's no wonder his body was able to withstand such extreme weather conditions. The famous teacher Roche-Ambroise Auguste Bebian, who worked with the deaf and sign language, decided to try to teach the boy to communicate. But the teacher soon became disillusioned with his student due to the lack of any signs of progress. After all, Victor, being born with the ability to speak and hear, never did it correctly after he was left to live in the wild. Delayed mental development did not allow Victor to begin to lead a full life. The wild boy was subsequently taken to the National Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, where he died at the age of 40.

Oksana Malaya. This story happened in 1991 in Ukraine. Oksana Malaya was left by her bad parents in a kennel, where she grew up from 3 to 8 years old, surrounded by other dogs. The girl became wild; she was kept in the backyard of the house all this time. She adopted the general behavior of dogs - barking, growling, moving on all fours. Oksana smelled her food before eating it. When the authorities came to her aid, the other dogs barked and growled at the people, trying to protect their fellow dog. The girl behaved similarly. Due to the fact that she was deprived of communication with people, Oksana’s vocabulary contained only two words “yes” and “no”. The feral child received intensive therapy to help him acquire essential social and verbal skills. Oksana was able to learn to speak, although psychologists say she has big problems trying to express herself and communicate emotionally rather than verbally. Today the girl is already twenty years old, she lives in one of the clinics in Odessa. Oksana spends most of her time with cows on the farm of her boarding school. But in her own words, she feels best when she is around dogs.

Gin. If you professionally engage in psychology or study the issue of feral children, then the name Jean will certainly come up. At the age of 13, she was locked in a room with a potty tied to a chair. Another time, her father tied her up in a sleeping bag and put her like that in her crib. Her father extremely abused his power - if the girl tried to speak, he would beat her with a stick to keep her quiet, he would bark and growl at her. The man also forbade his wife and children to talk to her. Because of this, Jean had a very small vocabulary, which was only about 20 words. So, she knew the phrases “Stop”, “No more.” Jean was discovered in 1970, making it one of the worst cases of social isolation known to date. At first they thought she had autism, until doctors discovered that the 13-year-old girl was a victim of violence. Jean ended up at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where she was treated for many years. After several courses, she was already able to answer questions in monosyllables and learned to dress independently. However, she still adhered to the behavior she had learned, including the "walking bunny" mannerism. The girl constantly held her hands in front of her, as if they were her paws. Jean continued to scratch, leaving deep marks on things. Jean was eventually taken in by her therapist, David Rigler. He worked with her every day for 4 years. As a result, the doctor and his family were able to teach the girl sign language, the ability to express herself not only with words, but also with drawings. When Jean left her therapist, she went to live with her mother. Soon the girl found herself with a new foster parent. And she was unlucky with them, they made Jean become mute again, she became afraid to speak. Now the girl lives somewhere in Southern California.

Madina. The tragic story of this girl is in many ways similar to the story of Oksana Malaya. Madina grew up with dogs without any communication with people. It was in this condition that specialists found her. At that time, the girl was only 3 years old. When found, she preferred to bark like a dog, although she could say the words “yes” and “no.” Fortunately, the doctors who examined the girl declared her physically and mentally healthy. As a result, despite some delay in development, there is hope for a return to a normal lifestyle. After all, Madina is at an age when it is still possible, with the help of doctors and psychologists, to return to the normal path of development.

Lobo. This child was also nicknamed "the wolf girl from the Devil's River." The mysterious creature was first discovered in 1845. A girl ran among the wolves on all fours, attacking a herd of goats near San Felipe, Mexico, along with the predators. A year later, the information about the wild child was confirmed - the girl was seen greedily eating a raw killed goat. The villagers were alarmed by this proximity to an unusual person. They began searching for the girl, soon catching her. The wild child was named Lobo. She constantly howled like a wolf at night, as if calling on packs of gray predators to save herself. As a result, the girl escaped captivity and ran away. The next time a wild child was seen was 8 years later. She was by the river with two wolf cubs. Frightened by the people, Lobo grabbed the puppies and ran away. Since then, no one has met her.

Wild Peter. Not far from Hamelin, Germany, in 1724, people discovered a hairy boy. He moved exclusively on all fours. They were able to catch the wild man only through deception. He could not speak, and ate exclusively raw food - poultry and vegetables. After being transported to England, the boy was nicknamed Wild Peter. He never learned to speak, but he became capable of doing the simplest work. They say that Peter was able to live to an old age.

Well, who among us in childhood was not fascinated by the adventures of the boy Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack?

But then it seemed that this was just an incredible fantasy of the talented author Rudyard Kipling, and in real life nothing like this could simply happen.

But alas... London photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten collected 12 shocking stories about modern Mowgli and combined them in the staged photo project “Homeless Children”.

Be careful, some facts will horrify you!

1. Janie, USA, 1970.

This girl was unlucky right after birth. Her father decided that she was developmentally delayed and isolated her from society. Janie spent most of her childhood alone, sitting on a potty chair in a small room at home. She even slept on this chair! At the age of 13, the girl ended up with her mother in the social service, where workers suspected strangeness in her behavior. And it’s not surprising, because Janie couldn’t utter a single articulate sound, and she was constantly scratching herself and spitting. This case turned out to be tempting for many specialists. Janie immediately became an object for research and experimentation. After some time, she learned several words, although it was impossible for her to put them together into sentences. The biggest achievements were reading short texts and minimal social behavior skills. After a little adaptation, Janie lived a little more with her mother and in other foster families, where she went through humiliation and even violence! After funding for doctors stopped, the girl’s development again experienced regression and complete silence. For some time, her name was completely forgotten, until a private detective discovered that she lived in an institution for mentally retarded adults.

2. Bird boy from Russia, 2008.

The story of Vanya Yudin from Volgograd recently shook up all the media. It turned out that a boy under 7 years old was locked by his mother in a room, the only furniture in which was cages with birds! And, despite the fact that Vanya was not subjected to violence, and his mother fed him regularly, he was deprived of the most important thing - communication! The boy filled this gap with the help of his roommates... And as a result, Vanya did not learn to speak, but only chirped like a bird and flapped his wings. Now the bird boy is in a psychological rehabilitation center.

3. Madina, Russia, 2013.

This girl's story will amaze you even more! It is known that until the age of 3, Madina lived only with dogs, ate the food they caught, slept and warmed herself with them when she was cold. The girl’s mother was drunk most of the day, and her father left the family before she was born. Eyewitnesses say that while my mother had alcoholic guests, Madina was running with the dogs on all fours on the floor and pulling bones. If Madina ran out onto the playground, she was not playing, but simply attacking the children, because she did not know how to communicate in any other way. At the same time, doctors give an optimistic forecast for the girl’s future, assuring that she only needs adaptation and training.

4. Marina Chapman, Columbia, 1959.

At the age of 5, Marina was kidnapped from her home village in South America and abandoned by her captors in the jungle. All this time she lived among the capuchin monkeys until she was found by hunters. She ate everything that animals got - roots, berries, bananas. She slept in the hollows of trees, walked on all fours and could not speak at all. But after the rescue, the girl’s life did not get better - she was sold to a brothel, and then ended up as a servant in a mafia family, from where a neighbor rescued her. Despite the fact that he had five children of his own, the kind man took in the girl, and upon reaching adulthood in 1977, he helped Marina get a job as a housekeeper in the UK. It was there that the girl decided to arrange her life, got married and even gave birth to children. Well, with her youngest daughter Vanessa, Marina also wrote an autobiographical book “The Girl with No Name”!

5. Savage from Champagne, France, 1731.

The story of Marie Angelique Mamie Le Blanc, despite its long history, is known and documented! It is known that for more than 10 years Marie wandered through the forests of France alone. Armed with a club, the girl defended herself from wild animals by eating fish, birds and frogs. When Marie was caught at the age of 19, her skin was already completely dark, her hair was one tangled tow, and her fingers were crooked. The girl was always ready for an attack, looked around her and even drank water on all fours from the river. She did not know human speech and communicated using howls and growls. It is known that she could not get used to ready-made food, preferring to independently obtain and eat raw animals! In 1737, rather for the sake of hunting, the girl was sheltered by the Queen of Poland. Since that time, rehabilitation among people has borne its first fruits - the girl learned to speak, read, and even attracted her first fans. The Wild Woman from Champagne lived to be 63 years old and died in 1775 in Paris.

6. Leopard Boy, India, 1912.

At the age of 2 years, this baby was dragged into the thicket of the forest by a female leopard. Three years later, the hunter, having killed the predator, discovered her cubs and a five-year-old boy in the den! Then the baby was returned to his family. It is known that for a long time the boy ran on all fours, biting and growling. And out of habit, he bent his fingers at right angles, for comfortable climbing in trees. And despite the fact that the adaptation returned him to his “human” appearance, the leopard boy did not live long, dying from an eye disease (this was not related to his childhood adventures!)

7. Kamala and Amala, India, 1920.

Another creepy story - 8-year-old Amala and one-and-a-half-year-old Kamala were discovered in a wolf's den by Pastor Joseph Singh in 1920. He was able to pick up the girls only when the wolves left the house. But his action did not turn out to be successful. The captured girls were not ready for life with people, the joints of their arms and legs were deformed from living on all fours, and they preferred to eat only fresh meat! But amazingly, their hearing, vision and smell were absolute! It is known that Amala died a year after they were found, and Kamala even learned to walk upright and speak a few words, but at the age of 17 she died of kidney failure.

8. Oksana Malaya, Ukraine, 1991.

This girl was found in a dog kennel at the age of 8, of which she lived with four-legged dogs for exactly 6 years. It is known that Oksana’s alcoholic parents threw her out of the house, and her search for warmth and the desire to survive brought her to the doghouse. When the girl was found, she behaved more like a dog than a child - she ran on all fours with her tongue hanging out, barking and baring her teeth. Intensive therapy helped Oksana learn minimal social skills, but her development stopped at the level of a 5-year-old child. Now Oksana Malaya is already 32 years old, she lives in Odessa on a farm under close supervision and care.

9. Wolf Girl, Mexico, 1845/1852.

And this little girl, raised by wolves, never allowed herself to be tamed! It is known that she was seen several times, standing on all fours, in a pack of wolves, attacking goats, eating goats and sucking milk from a she-wolf.

10. Sujit Kumar or Chicken Boy, Fiji, 1978.

This kid was locked in a chicken coop as punishment by his parents for bad behavior. Well, after the mother shortened her life and the father was killed, the grandfather took over the upbringing. However, his methods also cannot be called innovative, because instead of taking care of his grandson, he preferred to hide him with chickens and roosters. Sujit was rescued from a chicken coop at the age of 8. It is known that the boy could only cackle and clap. He pecked at the food, and slept like a bird - sitting and tucking his leg. Workers at a nursing home took him in for rehabilitation for a while, but there the boy behaved very aggressively, for which he was tied to the bed with a sheet for more than 20 years! Now an adult man is being cared for by Elizabeth Clayton, who discovered him in a chicken coop as a child.

11. Ivan Mishukov, Russia, 1998.

At the age of 4, having suffered domestic violence, Vanya ran away from home. In order to survive, the boy was forced to wander and beg. Soon a pack of dogs accepted him as one of their own. Vanya ate, slept and played with them. And even more - the dogs “appointed” the boy as their leader! For almost two years Vanya lived a homeless life with four-legged animals until he found himself in a shelter. Today, the boy has fully undergone social adaptation and is living a full life.

Read:

12. John Ssebunya or Monkey Boy, Uganda, 1991.

After seeing his own father kill his mother, three-year-old John Ssebunya ran away from home. He found his shelter in the jungle with the monkeys. It was from these animals that he learned survival techniques. His diet consisted of roots, sweet potatoes, nuts and cassava. After people found the boy, he was treated for a long time for worms and calluses on his knees. But, in addition to the fact that John quickly learned to speak, he was discovered to have another talent - a wonderful voice! Now the monkey boy is a real celebrity, and he can often be seen on tour even in the UK as part of the children's choir “Pearls of Africa”!

). At an exhibition in London, she presented a series of staged photographs telling real stories about children growing up under very unusual circumstances.

Fullerton-Batten decided to look for data on children who grew up with animals after reading the book The Girl with No Name.

The stories she collected are about those who got lost in the forest or were otherwise raised by animals. It is characteristic that such cases have been recorded on at least four of the five continents.

Lobo Wolf Girl, Mexico, 1845-1852.

In 1845, people noticed a girl crawling on all fours with a pack of wolves attacking a herd of goats. A year later, she was noticed in the same company: everyone was eating raw goat meat together.

One day the girl was captured, but she managed to escape. In 1852, she was spotted again with her cubs, but this time she managed to escape. Since then, no one has seen her again.

Oksana Malaya, Ukraine, 1991

Oksana was found in a dog kennel in 1991. She was 8 years old at that time, 6 of them she lived with dogs. Her parents were alcoholics, and one night they accidentally left the girl on the street. To keep warm, the baby climbed into the nursery on the farm, curled up, and the dogs saved her from the cold.

So the girl began to live with them. When people found out about this story, Oksana already looked more like a dog than a person. She ran on all fours, bared her teeth, breathed, sticking out her tongue, and growled. Due to the lack of connection with people, by the age of 8 she had learned only two words: “Yes” and “No”.

Intensive therapy helped Oksana regain social and verbal skills, but only at the level of a five-year-old child. Now the girl is 30 years old, she lives in a special clinic in Odessa and takes care of farm animals.

Shamdeo, India, 1972

Shamdeo, a 4-year-old boy, was discovered in the forest in 1972 while playing with wolf cubs. His skin was very dark - his teeth were pointed and his nails were long. There were huge calluses on the child's hands, elbows and knees. He loved to hunt chickens, ate dirt, and had an increased appetite for raw blood.

The child was taken from the forest by social services. They never weaned him off his love of raw meat. They didn’t teach him to speak either, but he began to understand sign language. In 1978, he was accepted into Mother Teresa's home for the poor. He died in February 1985.

“Rights” (Bird Boy), Russia, 2008

Prava, a 7-year-old boy, was found in the tiny two-room house he shared with his 31-year-old mother. The boy lived in a room with dozens of ornamental birds - along with all the cages, food and droppings.

His mother treated the child like one of her pets. She did not physically beat him, but periodically left him without food and never spoke to him. Therefore, he could only communicate with birds. The boy could not speak - he could only chirp. He also waved his arms like a bird—with wings.

The right was taken away from the mother and sent to the Psychological Assistance Center. Doctors are still trying to rehabilitate him.

Marina Chapman, Columbia, 1959

Marina was kidnapped in 1954. She originally lived in one of the villages lost in the jungle of South America, but her kidnapper simply left her in the jungle. A baby capuchin monkey came out.

The hunters found the child only five years later. The child ate only berries, roots and bananas, slept in hollow trees and walked on all fours.

One day she was poisoned by something. One elderly monkey led her to a puddle of water and forced her to drink from it. The girl vomited and her body began to recover.

She was friends with young monkeys, knew how to climb trees, and was well versed in the fruits of local plants: which ones could be eaten and which ones could not.

By the time the hunters discovered her, Marina had completely forgotten how to speak. Those who found her took advantage of this: the child was sent to a brothel. There she lived as a street girl, and was later enslaved by a mafia family. And only many years later one of her neighbors rescued her and took her to Bogota. There they lived together with the savior’s own son.

When Marina became an adult, she worked as a nanny. In 1977, their family moved to the UK, where they still live today. Marina got married and had children. Her youngest daughter, Vanessa James, wrote a book about her mother’s wild experiences, “The Girl with No Name.”

Madina, Russia, 2013

Madina has lived with dogs since birth. For the first three years of her life, she played with them and shared food with them. They warmed her with their bodies in winter. Social workers found the girl in 2013. She was naked, walked on all fours and growled like a dog.

Madina's father left the family shortly after her birth. Her mother, a 23-year-old girl, drank herself to death. She did not care for the child at all, and one day she made a simple decision. She moved into the house of one of the rural alcoholics. She sat at the table with her drinking companions while her daughter chewed bones on the floor with the dogs.

One day Madina ran to the playground, but was unable to play with the other children: she could not speak. So the dogs became her only friends.

Doctors reported that Madina is mentally and physically an absolutely healthy person, despite all the tests that she went through. There is a good chance that one day she will return to normal. Despite the fact that I learned to speak too late.

Janie, USA, 1970

Janie's father once decided that his daughter was "retarded" and therefore began to hold her on the toilet seat in a small room of the house. She spent more than 10 years in this solitary confinement. I even slept in a chair.

She was 13 years old when a social worker accidentally noticed her condition in 1970. They say the child did not know how to go to the toilet and moved “somehow strangely: sideways and like a rabbit.” The teenage girl did not know how to speak or express any sounds at all.

She was taken from her parents, and since then she has become the subject of scientific research. Gradually she learned a few words, but never learned to write. But he reads simple texts and already knows how to interact with other people.

In 1974, funding for Janie's treatment program was stopped and she was placed in a private institution for mentally retarded adults.

Leopard boy, India, 1912

This boy was two years old when a female leopard stole him from the courtyard of a village house and took him into her care in 1912. Three years later, a hunter killed the animal and found its three cubs: two small leopards and a five-year-old child. The child was returned to his family in a small village in India.

At first, the boy could only sit on all fours, but he ran faster than any other adult. His knees were covered with huge, hard calluses, and his fingers were bent vertically at right angles to his palm. They were covered with tough, keratinized skin.

The boy bit, fought with everyone, and one day caught and ate raw chicken. He couldn't speak - he could only moan and growl.

Later he was taught to speak and walk upright. Unfortunately, he soon became blind from cataracts. However, this is not due to his experience of living in the jungle, but to heredity.

Sujit Kumar, Chicken Boy, Fiji, 1978

The authorities declared Sujit a mentally retarded child. After that, his parents locked him in a chicken coop. Soon his mother committed suicide and his father was killed. The grandfather took responsibility for the baby, but he believed that he would continue to be better off in the chicken coop.

When Sujeet was eight years old, he ran out onto the road and was spotted. The boy clucked and flapped his arms like a chicken. He did not eat the food brought to him, but pecked it, clicking his tongue. He sat on the chair with his feet up and his toes turned inward.

Soon after his discovery, he was sent to a nursing home as a worker. But there he was distinguished by aggressive behavior, so he had to be tied to the bed with sheets for a long time. Now over 30 years old, he lives with Elizabeth Clayton, the woman who saved him and gave him a home.

Kamala and Amala, India, 1920

8-year-old Kamala and 12-year-old Amala were found in a wolf den in 1920. This is one of the most famous cases of the discovery of “Mowgli children”.

They were found by a certain Joseph Singh, who saw two children emerging from a cave of wolves. It was disgusting to look at them: they ran on all fours and behaved not at all like people. Soon, Singh made every effort, together with the police, to take the girls away from the wolves.

During the first nights, the girls slept curled up together, growled, tore off their clothes, ate nothing but raw meat and howled. Physically, they were also different: the tendons and joints in their arms and legs were contracted and deformed. The girls showed no interest in communicating with people. But their hearing, vision and smell were exceptionally developed.

Amala died the next year after returning to the people. Kamala did learn to walk upright and say a few words, but died in 1929 from kidney failure at the age of 17.

Ivan Mishukov, Russia, 1998

Ivan ran away from an alcoholic family when he was 4 years old. At first he lived on the streets and begged. And then he “made friends” with a pack of dogs. He began to feed them. They began to trust him. Ivan became something of a leader of the pack.

For two years he lived with them in abandoned buildings. Then he was caught and placed in an orphanage. The boy knew how to talk: he had to beg for alms. That is why he now lives a normal life.

Marie Angelique Memmi Le Blanc (Champagne Girl), France, 1731

This story received great publicity in the 18th century. Surprisingly, it is well documented.

Over the course of 10 years, it is unclear how the girl who ended up in the forest walked thousands of kilometers through the forests of France. She ate birds, frogs, fish, leaves, branches and roots of trees. She knew how to fight wild animals, including wolves. When she was 19 years old, she was captured by "civilized" people. The girl was black with dirt, overgrown, with sharp claws. She knelt down to drink water and constantly looked around for danger.

She could not speak; she communicated only by squealing and wheezing. But, it seems, she found amazing contact with rabbits and birds. For many, many years she ate only raw food and could not eat cooked food. She could climb trees like a monkey.

In 1737, the Queen of Poland, mother of the French Queen, took Memmi into her palace. Together with her, she went out hunting for rabbits: the girl ran after them as deftly as dogs.

But Memmi was able to recover, and in 10 years she learned to read, write and speak French fluently. In 1747 she became a nun, but not for long. Her patron died under mysterious circumstances.

Soon, however, Memmi found a new “owner” - Mrs. Eke. She published a photograph of the woman. Memmi lived in Paris in a wealthy family and died in 1775. She was 63.

John Ssebunya, Monkey Boy, Uganda, 1991

John ran away from home in 1988 when he was three years old. This happened after his father killed his mother in front of his eyes. The boy ran away into the jungle and began to live with monkeys.

In 1991, he was found and captured. At that time he was about six years old. By that time, his entire body was covered with hair. The boy ate only roots, nuts, sweet potatoes and cassava. Huge worms, half a meter long, lived in his intestines.

But everything turned out well: the child was taught to speak and walk. And his beautiful singing voice made him a stage star. Together with other African children, he toured the world as part of the Pearl of Africa children's choir.

Victor (Wild Boy of Aveyron), France, 1797

This is also a historical incident that is very well documented. A wild child was seen at the end of the 18th century in the forests of Saint Sernin-sur-Rance in the South of France. On January 8, 1800, he was caught.

He was 12 years old, his body was covered with scars, and the boy was unable to utter a word. It later turned out that he spent 7 years in the wild. Biology professors began to research it. It turned out that the boy can feel comfortable completely naked in the cold, knee-deep snow. It seems that the low temperature did not cause him any discomfort at all!

People tried to teach him to behave "normally", but there was no progress. The boy could not speak for the rest of his life. He was sent to a special scientific institute in Paris, where he was studied until his death. He died at the age of 40.

All of us are familiar with the story of Mowgli, a boy who grew up among wolves. Alas, the real stories of children raised by animals are not as romantic and fabulous as the works of the English writer and do not always end with a happy ending. For your attention - modern human cubs, who had neither the wise Kaa, nor the good-natured Balu, nor the brave Akela among their friends, but their adventures will not leave you indifferent, because the prose of life is much more interesting and much more terrible than the work of even brilliant writers.

1. Boy from Uganda adopted by monkeys

In 1988, 4-year-old John Ssebunya ran away into the jungle after witnessing a terrible scene - during another quarrel between his parents, his father killed the baby's mother. Time passed, but John never came out of the forest and the villagers began to believe that the boy was dead.

In 1991, one of the local peasant women, having gone into the jungle for firewood, suddenly saw in a flock of vervet monkeys, dwarf green monkeys, a strange creature, in which she recognized, not without difficulty, a little boy. According to her, the boy’s behavior was not much different from monkeys - he moved deftly on all fours and easily communicated with his “company.” The woman reported what she saw to the villagers and they tried to catch the boy. As often happens with children raised by animals, John resisted in every possible way, not allowing himself to pull himself together, but the peasants still managed to recapture him from the monkeys. When the vervet puppy was washed and tidied up, one of the village residents recognized him as a fugitive who went missing in 1988. Later, having learned to speak, John said that the monkeys taught him everything necessary for life in the jungle - climbing trees, searching for food, in addition, he mastered their “language”. Fortunately, after returning to the people, John adapted to life in their society without much difficulty, he showed good vocal abilities, and now the matured Ugandan Mowgli is touring with the Pearl of Africa children's choir.

2. Chita girl who grew up among dogs

Five years ago, this story appeared on the front pages of Russian and foreign newspapers - in Chita they discovered a 5-year-old girl, Natasha, who moved like a dog, lapped water from a bowl and, instead of articulate speech, only barked, which is not surprising, because, as it later turned out, the girl spent almost her entire life in a locked room, in the company of cats and dogs. The child’s parents did not live together and presented different versions of what happened - the mother (I just want to put this word in quotes), 25-year-old Yana Mikhailova claimed that her father had stolen the girl from her long ago, after which she did not raise her. The father, 27-year-old Viktor Lozhkin, in turn, stated that the mother did not pay due attention to Natasha even before he took the baby to him at the request of his mother-in-law. Later it was established that the family could not be called prosperous; in the apartment where, in addition to the girl, her father and grandparents lived, there was appalling unsanitary conditions, there was no water, heat or gas.

When they found her, the girl behaved like a real dog - she rushed at people and barked. Having taken Natasha from her parents, guardianship and trusteeship officials placed her in a rehabilitation center so that the girl could adapt to life in human society; her “loving” father and mother were arrested.

3. Volgograd birdcage prisoner

The story of a Volgograd boy in 2008 shocked the entire Russian public. His own mother kept him locked up in a 2-room apartment inhabited by many birds. For unknown reasons, the mother did not raise the child, giving him food, but not communicating with him at all. As a result, the boy, until he was seven years old, spent all his time with the birds, when law enforcement officers found him, in response to their questions he only “chirped” and flapped his “wings.” The room where he lived was filled with bird cages and simply overflowing with droppings. As eyewitnesses reported, the boy's mother clearly suffered from a mental disorder - she fed street birds, took the birds home and lay on the bed all day long, listening to their chirping. She didn’t pay any attention to her son, apparently considering him one of her pets. When the relevant authorities became aware of the “bird boy,” he was sent to a psychological rehabilitation center, and his 31-year-old mother was deprived of parental rights.

4. Little Argentine rescued by stray cats

In 2008, police in the Argentine province of Misiones discovered a homeless one-year-old baby who was in the company of wild cats. Apparently, the boy was in the company of cats for at least several days - the animals took care of him as best they could: they licked dried dirt from his skin, brought him food and warmed him on frosty winter nights. A little later, we managed to find the boy’s father, who led a vagabond lifestyle - he told the police that a few days ago he lost his son while he was collecting waste paper. The dad told officers that the wild cats always protected his son.

5. Kaluga boy raised by wolves

2007, Kaluga region, Russia. Residents of one of the villages noticed a boy in the nearby forest who looked to be about 10 years old. The child was in a pack of wolves, who apparently considered him “one of their own” - with them he obtained food, running on bent legs. Later, law enforcement officers raided the “Kaluga Mowgli” and found him in a wolf’s den, after which he was sent to one of the Moscow clinics. The surprise of the doctors knew no bounds - after examining the boy, they concluded that although he looked like a 10-year-old, in fact he should have been about 20 years old. From living in a wolf pack, the guy’s toenails turned almost into claws, his teeth resembled fangs, his behavior copied the habits of wolves in everything.

The young man could not speak, did not understand Russian, and did not respond to the name Lyosha given to him during his capture, reacting only when he was called “kiss-kiss-kiss.” Unfortunately, the specialists were unable to return the boy to normal life - just a day after he was admitted to the clinic, “Lyosha” ran away. His further fate is unknown.

6. Pupil of Rostov goats

In 2012, employees of the guardianship authorities of the Rostov region, having come to check one of the families, saw a terrible picture - 40-year-old Marina T. kept her 2-year-old son Sasha in a goat pen, practically not caring about him, while When the child was found, the mother was not at home. The boy spent all his time with animals, played and slept with them, as a result, by the age of two he could not learn to speak or eat normally. Needless to say, the sanitary conditions in the two-by-three-meter room he shared with his horned “friends” not only left much to be desired—they were appalling. Sasha was emaciated from malnutrition; when doctors examined him, it turned out that he weighed about a third less than healthy children his age.

The boy was sent to rehabilitation and then to an orphanage. At first, when they tried to return him to human society, Sasha was very afraid of adults and refused to sleep in the bed, trying to crawl under it. A criminal case was opened against Marina T. under the article “Improper performance of parental responsibilities”; a lawsuit was filed in court to deprive her of parental rights.

7. Adopted son of a Siberian guard dog

In one of the provincial regions of the Altai Territory in 2004, a 7-year-old boy was discovered who was raised by a dog. His own mother abandoned little Andrei three months after his birth, entrusting the care of her son to his alcoholic father. Shortly after this, the parent also left the house where they lived, apparently without even remembering the child. The guard dog became the boy’s father and mother, who fed Andrei and raised him in his own way. When social workers found him, the boy could not speak, moved only like a dog and was wary of people. He bit and carefully sniffed the food that was offered to him.

For a long time, the child could not be weaned from dog habits - in the orphanage he continued to behave aggressively, rushing at his peers. However, gradually the specialists managed to instill in him the skills of communicating with gestures, Andrei learned to walk like a human and use cutlery while eating. The guard dog's pupil also got used to sleeping in bed and playing with a ball; his attacks of aggression occurred less and less often and gradually disappeared.