Tarzan, Mowgli – you know them all-too well on the big screen.
Swinging from vines, leaping through the trees, running through the jungle having a good time
(and even talking!) with their four-legged friends.
But what about the real stories of children raised by animals?
Are they just as adventurous and romantic as the movies show?
The short answer is, no, not even close…
In 1991, a villager in Uganda discovered a child who seemed very odd.
In fact, it was even difficult to tell that it was a boy she’d found because the child
had long hair all over his body (a clue that his body had adapted to living outside for
years).
His knees were white and callused (this boy had been walking on all fours for a long time),
and his fingernails were long and curled (he’d probably never even seen a pair of clippers
in his life).
There were plenty of clues, but how could this simple villager know that she’d stumbled
upon one of the rarest and most bizarre phenomena: feral children…
A feral child, or what some refer to as a wild child, is a boy or girl who lived without
any human contact for some time in their early formative years.
It’s believed that these kids can survive on their own because they get “taken in”
and raised by animals, usually mammals like wolves, wild dogs, and primates.
And all the clues point to that theory: they’re more animal-like and have either limited or
no knowledge of human language or behavior.
They often walk on all fours like their adoptive animal family, and they sometimes even look
more like them!
There have been some confirmed cases over the years, including that of this Uganda boy.
His name would be John Ssebunya.
When he was eventually able to speak, experts came to know of his story.
Apparently, he’d run away from an unstable home when he was just a toddler.
(This is often a repeating pattern in these cases.)
After a few days alone in the jungle, the poor hungry boy was approached by a group
of vervet monkeys.
Granted, they were hesitant at first, seeing this strange hairless creature sitting there.
But they soon saw no threat in the helpless thing and offered him some sweet potatoes
and nuts!
He was then adopted by the monkeys, and they’d take care of him for the next 3 years.
Imagine, by the time he was found, Ssebunya had spent at least half (possibly more!) of
his life living among monkeys in the jungle!
Once he’d fully earned their trust after a couple weeks, the animals really started
to see the human boy as one of their own.
They taught him how to survive by climbing trees and, of course, how to find food.
He certainly was loved by the primates.
In fact, when the rescuers tried to take the boy from the monkeys, they needed to throw
sticks and stones just to scare the troop away!
The child also tried to stay with what he now clearly and understandably saw as his
family.
But, eventually, he was rescued and brought back into human society…
But it’d be a long road of rehabilitation.
Milly Sebba, the woman who first saw Ssebunya, brought him to the nearest village to be fed
some hot food.
This was probably too drastic of a change because he felt sick right afterwards.
Remember, the child was used to eating only what the wild can offer, and he never really
did get accustomed to a hot meal.
Even for years to come, he always preferred raw fruits and vegetables.
But in the end, tearing the boy away from his jungle home likely ended up saving his
life.
And that’s because not long after they found him, they discovered that he had some dangerous
parasites in his gut!
The very first-time humans tried to communicate with him, the boy only responded through screaming
and biting, which scared most of them away.
But there were those who wouldn’t give up on him.
He was soon taken in by Paul and Molly Wasswa, who ran a local orphanage.
At first, the couple had some difficulty teaching Ssebunya how to be human since he didn’t
know how to speak or behave.
He even had problems learning how to walk upright.
However Paul, acting as a dedicated father-figure, always took John with him wherever he went
so that the child could learn the basics of human behavior.
Another woman who took care of him was his preschool teacher, Daisy Nalongo.
He stayed in her class for almost 10 years and refused to go to other teachers.
They had an incredible bond, and Nalongo would also act as a motherly figure for the boy.
Four years after his rescue, the now pre-teen said his first words: “Aunt Daisy”…
When scientists started studying this case even further, they found that, despite his
limited English, Ssebunya seemed to be fluent when communicating with the monkeys that had
adopted him!
Not only had he learned their ways, he’d also picked up their language!
And even after his rescue, he still seemed to have some sort of connection to these primates.
He’d move a certain way, and the troop would react.
They acted like he wasn’t different from them at all, but rather one of them!
This only serves as more evidence that his story is true – he really had been taken
in, accepted, and raised by monkeys in every sense.
Tons of media groups took an interest in this story, and the evidence kept piling up.
Reporters visiting him noticed that he’s still a little odd when it comes to certain
things.
They couldn’t help but notice that he uses his wrists to pick things up.
And, of course, he walks a little awkward and unbalanced since he had to learn to stand
and move around upright a lot later than most people learn the skill.
But other than the little subtleties of normal human behavior and movement, Ssebunya did
just fine getting readjusted to his roots.
Sure, like a lot of feral children who missed getting an education in those critical early
years, John did have some delays in his mental development.
But even with that, he was able to achieve so much despite it all!
His caretakers couldn’t help but notice that he’s in incredible physical shape and
quite a good runner.
With the help of trainers, he competed in the Special Olympics not once but twice!
He ran a marathon in 1999 and became the captain of Uganda’s Special Olympics soccer team
in 2003.
Ever since then, he’s traveled the world for international competitions and has been
to the US, UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, to name a few.
Aside from being good at sports, he’s also gifted with a beautiful singing voice.
Hillary Duck, a dentist from England, overheard him singing once when she visited Uganda to
provide dental treatment to the locals.
As soon as she heard him, she was blown away by his voice.
In that moment, she was able to convince John to join the Pearl of Africa Children's Choir.
Their team had a three-week tour all over the United Kingdom.
Duck once stated in an interview that singing really helped John overcome his shyness.
Despite his traumatic childhood, years of living completely isolated from society with
all its safety and conveniences, and the long difficult road to rehabilitation, Ssebunya
is still a kind man with a good heart.
When asked how he felt about all the attention he gets, he modestly replied that he knows
people are just interested in him because his story is unusual.
And even though there are those who look at him strangely, call him mean names, or perhaps
judge him too harshly, he says he doesn’t think anything bad about them.
And finally, he also mentioned that he’s very thankful to the monkeys that found and
raised him so many years prior.
In a 2013 interview, Ssebunya said that he’s living peacefully in his house and owns a
couple of cows.
He told the interviewer that he wanted to settle down, have kids, and start a family
of his own.
By that time, he was already a 30-year-old man who’d chosen to stay in his hometown
of Bombo, Uganda.
He also keeps in touch with the orphanage that took him in, saved his life, and brought
him back to humanity.
From a boy who just wanted to escape a bad situation and ended up living for years in
the jungle among a family of monkeys, and now a man that’s traveled the globe thanks
to his talents, John Ssebunya’s story is truly one of the most fascinating and convincing
cases of feral children.
But it’s also a testament that they can be saved and go on to live normal lives.
Sure, it might not be anything like what you see in the movies, but that doesn’t mean
they can’t have a happy ending too!
Do you believe that animals can raise a human child?
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!
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