Feral Children: Raised by Animals

by Bren Parks in Issues, October 29, 2008

Since the beginning of time, there have been stories of feral children. Amazingly, most of them were true.

Since the first feral child, Henri, was found and recorded in 1344, a multitude feral children have been discovered. It is amazing that these poor children could survive at all, however, they did so at a terrible price. Deprived of human input in their formative years, these children were never able to catch up with the basic human skills we take for granted.

Victor

Perhaps the most famous feral child to be found was Victor. Victor, also known as the wild boy of Aveyron, was found in a French forest in 1799 at the age of eleven. When he was found, he was naked, unable to speak, and was living like a wild animal. After his capture, Victor was brought to Paris.

There, he was put under the supervision of Dr. Marc-Gaspard Itard, who began the arduous task of attempting to teach him to speak as well as to educate him. Although he could never teach him to speak, Victor learned enough to be able to live on a state pension under the supervision of his kindly housekeeper until his death at the age of 40 years old.

Although Doctor Itard felt that he had failed in his endeavor to teach Victor to speak, he did however, go on to become a pioneer in the field of education to the physically and mentally handicapped. Over one hundred years later, the teaching methods he developed served as the foundation for the teaching techiniques of the Montessori Schools.

Amala And Kamala

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The case of Amala and Kamala received a lot of publicity when they were discovered in October, 1920. When found by a missionary by the name of Reverend Joseph Singh, they were curled up in a worf’s lair that had been dug out of a giant earthen mound. The girls, who were approximately three and five years old, acted in every way as if they were wolves. He first spotted the two girls from a distance, however he later recalled that they looked so wild, running on all fours that he was hardpressed to say for sure they were even human. When he approached the den, a she wolf defended the girls and her own cubs until the death.

After the girls were taken from the den, doctors noted how very much like wolves they behaved. They would howl at night for their wolf companions, and ate mostly raw meat. Unfortunately, Amala died within a hear of being captured. However, Kamala lived for another ten years, and even learned to speak a few words.

If you would like to read more about feral children please visit FeralChildren.com where you can also find a complete list of feral children and their stories.