The Reality of Feral Children

Mowgli from The Jungle Book, Tarzan, and Donnie from The Wild Thornberrys: all of these characters are examples of how feral children depicted in modern cartoons. When they hear the term “feral” people often immediately think of children taken in and raised by wild animals. But, the term is actually defined as someone who is not socialized. “The term “feral” (wild) man is applied to extreme cases of human isolation” (Brownfield 79) but the term is also applied to “incidents of children who were isolated, confined, or restricted by malevolent adults so that their early social and sensory experience was severely limited and resulted in dramatic and often serious personality consequences” (Brownfield 79). “Interest in wild or feral children dates back to Carl Linnaeus's 1758 classification of loco ferus” (“Feral Children”). Feral children are most often the result of abuse and neglect in the home life. For example, a child may not like the way they are treated at home and run away to the wild. An instance like this would lead to the type of feral child that is most commonly known: the “wild child,” a child that is raised or taken in by animals. But, a child may also be neglected from birth. He or she may be confined to small spaces, left in the dark, or isolated from human interaction and society. This leads to the case of feral children that is most commonly seen: the isolated feral child. Each case is equally disgusting and both leave the child scarred for life. After being discovered, or rescued, feral children often have a hard time rehabilitating. According to Linda Wilmhurst, the kids develop DTD (developmental trauma disorder), a type of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) that affects children’s development (Wilmhurst 331)....

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