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i found the feral children

Children raised by wolves, monkeys and other animals"It was as if they had the minds of wolves. They tore off any clothes put on them and would only eat raw meat." (Kamala and Amala) Read more about Kamala and Amala

These are children who have supposedly been raised by animals: there are monkey boys, wolf girls, gazelle boys and even an ostrich boy. Click on the child's name to read more about that child. The information available varies greatly from child to child. Where the name is in bold, there is a considerable amount of information here.

Authenticity

Are any of these stories true? The evidence for many is virtually non-existent. Some, such as The Lobo Girl of Devil's River are quite possibly merely folk tales. In The Mother Wolf, the final chapter of his PhD thesis, Paul Williams questions whether any child has really been raised by animals. However, in May 2005, a nursing dog did retrieve an abandoned human baby and carry it to its litter of puppies.

In The Wolf Children: Fact or Fantasy?, Charles MacLean sets out to discover whether the best-known case of wolf children, that of Kamala and Amala, is true or a complete hoax.

Animal characteristics

Many children who've lived with animals tend to behave like their foster parents: they walk on all fours, make the same noises as the dogs, wolves or other hosts, and can bite and be aggressive. This provides confirmation that they certainly did spend their formative years in the company of animals. Oxana Malaya can be seen in the Optomen TV production, running around on all fours and barking like a dog.

Animal parents?

Certainly, it's true that some animals wouldn't make good parents. It's difficult to imagine a crocodile doing anything other than eat a human baby. But from an evolutionary perspective, babies are designed to be extremely cute, or they wouldn't be nurtured even by their own parents. (For more on cuteness and the "innate releasing mechanism", see Natures and Cultures of Cuteness by Gary Genosko.) Cases of cross-species nurturing among animals are common; so, perhaps, we shouldn't automatically dismiss tales of a monkey boy, wolf boy, wolf girl, or dog boy.

One modern example of an animal caring for a human baby is the Kenyan dog who, on finding an the abandoned human baby Angel in a forest, picked her up and carried her home to her own litter of puppies. There are many other documented cases of children throughout history being cared for by animals for a few hours or days.

Wolf children

There are a large number of wolf children in the list, in particular from India. One explanation is that women with young children or babies would leave their infants at the edge of a field while working, and wolves would emerge from the forest and steal them.

Specifically, it's believed that a she-wolf whose cubs have been killed (and this is the specific theory put forward in the sources for Kamala and Amala) might be attracted to human babies, her maternal instincts all-powerful.

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The camera symbol indicates there is a picture of the child.

A source document or eyewitness account is reproduced here.

There is extensive information for the children shown in bold.

Click on the child's name to read more about that child.

Feral children raised by animals (wolves, monkeys, etc.) Name Sex Location Date found Age when found Animals

Andrei Tolstyk M Bespalovskoya, Russia 2004 7 dogs

Traian Caldarar M Brasov, Romănia 2002 7 dogs

Axel Rivas M Talcahuano, Chile 2001 11 dogs

Ivan Mishukov M Retova, Russian Federation 1998 6 dogs

Bello M Nigeria 1996 2 chimps

John Ssebunya M Uganda 1991 6 monkeys

Daniel M Andes, Perú 1990 12 goats

Saturday Mthiyane M Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa 1987 5 monkeys

Robert M Uganda 1985 6 monkeys

Baby Hospital F Sierra Leone 1984 7 monkeys

Kunu Masela M Machakos, Kenya 1983 6 dogs

Tissa M Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka 1973 11 monkeys

Shamdeo M Musafirkhana, Sultanpur, India 1972 4 wolves

Djuma M Turkmenistan 1962 7 wolves

Ape-Child of Teheran F Teheran, Persia (Iran) 1961 apes

Saharan gazelle-boy M Rio de Oro, Mauritanie 1960 10 gazelles

Ramu M Balrampur, India 1954 7 wolves

Syrian gazelle-boy M Syria 1946 15 gazelles

Sidi Mohamed M N Africa 1945 15 ostriches

Turkish bear-girl F Adana, Türkiye 1937 9 bears

Assicia F Liberia 1930s monkeys

Casamance boy M Casamance, Guinea-Bissau 1930s 16 monkeys

Jhansi wolf boy M Jhansi, India 1933 10 wolves

Maiwana wolf boy M Maiwana, India 1927 wolves

Jackal girl F Cooch Bahar, India 1923 jackals

Kamala F Midnapore, India 1920 8 wolves

Indian panther-child M India 1920 panthers

Amala F Midnapore, India 1920 2 wolves

Satna wolf boy M Satna, India 1916 wolves

Leopard boy of Dihungi M Dihungi, India 1915 5 leopards

Goongi F Naini Lal, Uttar Pradesh, India 1914 14 bears

Mauritanian gazelle boy M Mauritanie c1900 gazelles

Batsipur wolf boy M Batsipur, India 1893 14 wolves

Jalpaiguri bear-girl F Jalpaiguri, India 1892 8 bears

Skiron M Trikkala, Greece 1891 sheep

Second Sekandra wolf boy M Sekandra, India 1872 10 wolves

Dina Sanichar M Sekandra, India 1867 6 wolves

Third Sultanpur wolf boy M Sultanpur, India 1860 4 wolves

Shajehanpur wolf boy M Shahjehanpur, India 1858 wolves

Chupra wolf boy M Chupra, India 1849 9 wolves

Second Sultanpur wolf boy M Sultanpur, India 1848 9 wolves

The Lobo Girl of Devil's River F San Felipe, Texas, USA 1845 10 wolves

First Lucknow wolf boy M Lucknow, India 1844 10 wolves

First Sultanpur wolf boy M Sultanpur, India 1843 wolves

Bankipur wolf boy M Bankipur, India 1843 12 wolves

Hasunpur wolf boy M Hasunpur, India 1841 9 wolves

Wolf-boy of Kronstadt M Brasov, Romănia c1780 23 wolves

Bear girl of Fraumark F Krupina, Slovakia 1767 18 bears

Second Lithuanian bear boy M Lietuva 1694 10 bears

Bamberg boy M Bamberg, Bayern, Deutschland c1680 cows

Irish sheep-boy M Éire 1672 16 sheep

Joseph M Lietuva 1660s 12 bears

Danish bear boy M Danmark c1600 bears

Ardenne wolf boy M Ardenne, France c1500 wolves

Wolf-boy of Wetterau M Wetterau, Deutschland 1344 12 wolves

2nd Wolf-boy of Hesse M Hessen, Deutschland 1341 7 wolves

Wolf-boy of Hesse M Hessen, Deutschland 1304 7 wolves

Aegisthus M Italia 250 goats

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