Meet the children kidnapped or lost and raised by monkeys, dogs and wolves
From growing up in a chicken coop to being raised by a pack of dogs: the people whose up-bringing was less than conventional
We’ve all seen the Disney epic The Jungle Book but for a few extraordinary people, the idea of being raised by a pack of wolves is not just from a fairy-tale.
Throughout history neglectful parents, kidnapping and running away have caused children to be isolated from society forcing them to rely on animals to survive.
Here is the story of some of the most extreme feral children who have been found in the wild.
Kamala and Amala - the “wolf-children”
One of the most well-known cases of children living in the wild, were these two girls discovered in the Indian jungle in the 1920s.
Rescued at the ages of three and eight, the children had been living with a female wolf and her pack.
It was never clear if the two were related but the wild children were taken to an orphanage by Reverend J. A. L. Singh who tried to help them adjust to human life.
The girls reportedly made some progress in adjusting but eventually both passed away from fatal illnesses.
In an interview the Reverend later said that he wondered if it would have been better to leave these children in the wild where he found them.
Marina Chapman - abducted and left with the monkeys
Marina Chapman was kidnapped in 1954 when she was just five years old from a remote South American village and later abandoned in the jungle.
She lived for five years with a family of capuchin monkeys before being discovered by hunters.
She lived on berries, roots and bananas, slept in holes in trees and reportedly moved about on all fours like her monkey family.
She wasn’t given any special treatment by the animals, she was reportedly left to scavenge for her own food but eventually they adjusted to her and would pull lice out of her hair like she was one of them.
She managed to completely re-integrate into human society and now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and two daughters.
Shamdeo - the boy who was raised by wolves
Shamdeo was found in the forest in India in 1972 when he was around four years old.
He was living with wolves, playing with the cubs, feeding and sleeping with them.
His skin was dark and his teeth were sharpened to points.
He had long hooked fingernails and matted hair as well as calluses on the palms of his hands, his elbows and knees.
He reportedly ate chickens and had become skilled at hunting for them and had developed a craving for blood.
Despite attempts to rehabilitate him, he never spoke but did learn some sign language. He passed away in February 1985.
Sujit Kumar - locked in a chicken coop
Sujit Kumar was eight when he was discovered in Fiji in 1978.
He was in the middle of the road clucking and flapping his arms like a chicken.
His parents had locked him in a chicken coop throughout his childhood so he had supposedly learned to peck at his food and crouch on chairs as if he was roosting.
His mother committed suicide after his father was murdered and Sujit was left in the care of his grandfather who continued to keep him confined with the chickens.
After being rescued he was taken to an old people’s home where he became aggressive and so was tied to a bed, where he was kept for another 20 years.
He has since been rescued by Elizabeth Clayton who set up a charity caring for children in need.
Oxana Malaya - “Dog Girl”
Oxana Malaya was rescued from her dog kennel home in Ukraine in 1991 where she was kept with a pack of mongrels.
She was eight years old when she was found and had been living with the dogs for the past six years.
As a toddler, her alcoholic parents had left her outside so she crawled into the farm kennel to seek warmth and shelter.
She was accustomed to running on all fours, panting with her tongue out and snarling and barking like her canine counterparts.
She now lives in a clinic in Odessa, a city in the south of Ukraine where she helps with the hospital’s farm animals.
John Ssebunya - raised by monkeys
John Ssebunya ran away from his Ugandan home in 1988 after witnessing his father murder his mother.
He ran into the jungle where he stayed and was reportedly adopted by monkeys.
In was found and captured in 1991 at the age of six and placed in an orphanage.
He has since learned to speak and even joined the Pearl of Africa children’s choir.
