Feral Child - Documented/alleged Cases - 20th Century

20th Century

• The "ostrich boy". A boy named Hadara was lost by his parents in the Sahara desert at the age of two, and was apprehended by ostriches. At the age of 12, he was captured and taken back to society and his parents. He later married and had children. The story is popular in west Sahara. In 2000, Hadara's son Ahmedu told his father's story to the Swedish author Monica Zak, who compiled it to a book. The book is a mixture of the stories told by Ahmedu and Zak's own fantasy.
• Amala and Kamala, claimed to have been found in 1920 by missionaries near Midnapore, Calcutta region, India, later proved to be a hoax to gain charity for Rev. Singh's orphanage
• Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja (ca. 1946, Sierra Morena, Spain) lived for 12 years with wolves until he was 19 in the mountains of Southern Spain. Rodriguez story was depicted in the 2010 Spanish-German film Entrelobos. For his portrayal of Rodriguez, young actor Manuel Camacho received a Best New Actor nomination at the 2011 Goya Awards.
• Syrian Gazelle Boy (1946): A boy aged around 10 was found in the midst of a herd of gazelles in the Syrian desert in the 1950s, and was only caught with the help of an Iraqi army jeep, because he could run at speeds of up to 50 km/h. This is a hoax, as are all the gazelle-boys (see below).
• Vicente Caucau (1948): Chilean boy found in a savage state at age 12, allegedly raised by pumas.
• Ramu, Lucknow, India, (1954), taken by a wolf as a baby, raised until the age of seven. Aroles made inquiries on the scene and classifies this as another hoax.
• Saharan Gazelle Boy (1960): found in Rio de Oro in the Spanish Sahara, written about by Basque traveller Jean-Claude Auger, using the pseudonym Armen in his 1971 book L'enfant sauvage du grand desert, translated as Gazelle Boy. When Serge Aroles made inquiries concerning this case in 1997, gathering testimonies in Mauritania, Armen himself admitted that he had written "a book of fiction".
• Genie, Los Angeles, California, discovered 1970. Confined to one room and abused by her father for 12 years.
• Robert (1982). He lost his parents in the Ugandan Civil War at the age of three, when Milton Obote's looting and murdering soldiers raided their village, around 50 miles (80 km) from Kampala. Robert then lived in the wild, presumably with vervet monkeys, for three years until he was found by soldiers.
• Ramachandra (1970s and 1980s). First reported in 1973 in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, at roughly 12 years old, and as living an amphibian lifestyle in the Kuano river. He was captured in 1979 and taken to a nearby village. He only partly adapted to a conventional lifestyle, still preferring raw food, walking with an awkward gait, and spending most of his time alone in nearby rivers and streams. He died in 1982 after approaching a woman who was frightened by him, and who badly scalded Ramachandra with boiling water. Historian Mike Dash speculates that Ramachandra's uncharacteristically bold approach to the woman was sparked by a burgeoning sexual attraction coupled with his ignorance of cultural mores and taboos.
• Baby Hospital (1984). This seven-year-old girl was found by an Italian missionary in Sierra Leone. She had apparently been brought up by apes or monkeys. Baby Hospital was unable to stand upright and crawled instead of walking, and ate directly from her bowl without using her hands. She made the chattering noises of apes or monkeys. Baby Hospital's arms and hands were reported to be well developed, but not her leg muscles. She resisted attempts to civilise her, instead spending much of her time in an activity that is very unusual for feral children: crying.
• Saturday Mthiyane (or Mifune) (1987). A boy of around five who spent a year in the company of monkeys in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
• Oxana Malaya, Ukraine, (1990s). Girl bonded with stray dogs and imitating their behaviour. Although hoaxed as being "raised with dogs until the age of eight", Oxana could actually have acquired her condition in an orphanage due to developmental disorder. Upon adulthood, Oxana has been taught to subdue her doggish behaviour and trained for basic skills, but remains mentally underabled
• Daniel, Andes Goat Boy (1990). Found in Peru, and was said to have been raised by goats for eight years.
• John Ssebunya, Uganda, (1991) raised by monkeys for several years in the jungle.
• Belo, the Nigerian Chimp Boy (1996) about two years of age, raised by chimpanzees for a year and a half.
• Ivan Mishukov (1998). Found near Moscow, raised by dogs for two years, and had risen to being "alpha male" of the pack.
• Edik, Ukraine (1999). Edik was found by social workers apparently living with stray dogs in an apartment.