Emily Chan
Stories about feral children are both interesting and eerie to read about. From an early age, feral children have lived in isolation from human contact. With their parents out of the picture, they were left to fend for themselves in the wilderness.
You may have heard of The Jungle Book, which is a tale about a boy named Mowgli who was abandoned by his parents and raised by wolves.
The Disney adaptations of The Jungle Book emphasize self-discovery, fun, adventure, and an appreciation of nature. But not many people know that the inspiring children’s films are based on a horrific truth.
In 1867, a six-year-old boy named Dina Sanichar was found by hunters in a wolf den deep in the jungle of Uttar Pradesh, India.
The hunters decided that it wasn’t safe for the child to be alone in the wild and took him to an orphanage, where he began the work of integrating into society. In the end, Dina was never able to fully adapt to civilization, although he did make some progress during his time at the orphanage.
When Dina first arrived, his behavior was more animal than human. He walked around on all fours, communicated through a series of growls and howls, ate raw meat, and sharpened his teeth by gnawing on bones.
Missionaries tried to teach him language, how to walk upright, and other human behaviors, such as wearing clothes and how to drink out of a cup.
Their attempts were not wholly successful, as Dina’s natural wolf instincts prevailed. He never learned to speak a human language, but he eventually grew to understand the missionaries and behave a little more like a human.
He learned how to walk on two legs, put clothes on, and eat from a plate. However, he was able to move around more comfortably on all fours and continued to sniff at his food before eating it.
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