In 1725, King George I Came Across A Feral Boy In A Forest, And He Became Something of A “Human Pet”
In 1725, King George I and his attendants made a startling discovery while hunting in the Hertswold Forest, 25 miles from Hanover, Germany.
What they found was a young boy scampering through the thicket on all fours like an animal and climbing trees with ease. He did not speak to the men at all and resorted to making growling and grunting noises instead.
Fascinated by the feral child, the king returned from his hunting trip with the boy in tow. He became something of a “human pet” and was given the name of Peter.
As word spread about Peter’s arrival, he quickly became a sensation among the townspeople and was known as Peter the Wild Boy. Questions of how he came to live in the woods arose.
Since he was found wearing a shirt collar around his neck, it seemed that he was once under the care of a person. It was thought that he was the child of one of the criminals who worked in the area, and he had wandered into the woods and lost his way. Another theory was that he had been abandoned by his parents.
At first, Peter struggled to adjust to life in a royal palace. It was difficult to get him to stay dressed in his green outfit. At one point, he escaped from his new home and was found hiding in an enormous tree, which had to be sawed down to reach him.
A Scottish physician named Dr. John Arbuthnot was appointed to teach Peter how to read, write, and speak. However, Peter made very little progress. The most he ever learned to say was his own name and “King George.”
He did seem to understand everything that was spoken to him and was rather fond of music. He delighted the royal household by dancing and jumping around to any tune that was played.
Eventually, Peter was sent to live with a farmer who had connections to the royal household. In 1751, Peter went missing. Despite searching far and wide and even posting advertisements, all efforts proved to be fruitless. It seemed like he was lost forever.
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But when a fire broke out at a building that housed inmates, Peter was identified among the group during the evacuation. After that, a brass collar was made for Peter to prevent any more mishaps. The collar was inscribed with his name and address.
Peter lived a long and comfortable life at the farm. He had a habit of going straight to bed after a meal of bread and butter. He also developed a taste for alcohol.
In 1785, Peter passed away. By then, he was well into his seventies. He was buried in a churchyard, and a brass plate engraved with his picture and description was mounted in the church in his memory.
Today, Peter is thought to have had a rare genetic disorder called Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. The condition causes those who have it to experience intellectual and developmental delays.
An analysis of a large painting of Peter conducted by the Institute of Child Health in 2011 led to this conclusion. Peter’s physical features, such as his short stature and hooded eyelids, were telltale signs of the disorder.
In addition, two of the fingers on his left hand were fused together, although this detail was not depicted in the analyzed portrait.
So Peter the Wild Boy was not raised by wolves after all. We now know that his behavior was due to a medical condition.
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