We have seen such things happening only in movies - like the Jungle book - one where human is raised by animals, and leads to a fascinating story with a favourable ending.
For Marcos Rodr¨ªguez Pantoja, however, life is not as simple as a book or a movie. Panroja was raised by wolves for 12 years of his life, and was adopted by a pack when he was stranded in Spain's Sierra Morena mountain range aged seven. He was found as a 19-year-old running around half-naked and barefoot only able to communicate by grunting and was brought back to civilisation.
Known as the Mowgli of Spain, he said the happiest days were living in a cave with bats, snakes and deer, whose calls he can still mimic. He said that human society has failed him and he wishes to go back and live with animals.?
Now 72-year-old, Pantoja lives in a small, cold house in Rante, Galicia, with only a meager pension after a tough life among humans. He thinks that from the time he was taken away from the cave he called home his life went downhill as he was never fully able to reintegrate.
He claimed to have been cheated and abused, exploited by bosses in the hospitality and construction industries. Pantoja's story is rather dramatic as he said that he was sold to a goat herd after his mother died in childbirth when he was three and his abusive father ran off with another woman.
representational / reuters
He admitted that returning to civilisation was the scariest experience of his life, first to an orphanage where the nuns taught him to walk up straight and eat at a table.
When he wanted to go back to the mountains, he found it was a very different place to as his cave was replaced with cottages and electric gates. The wolves could not accept him either after he was away so long.?