Dina Sanichar was found living in the depths of an Indian jungle in the mid 1800s. Found by hunters, the real shock was not that he had survived, but that he had been a pack mate of wolves. Because of this, Dina is often regarded as the “wolf boy.” He was even the inspiration behind the Jungle Book character Mowgli. 

Outside of the jungle, Dina spent his next decades trying to learn societal norms – despite his animalistic instincts. To this day, his story is used as a prime argument in nature versus nurture. Additionally, he continues to intrigue both the scientific and historic communities. 

Dina Sanichar: The Real-Life Mowgli

In 1867, a group of hunters were trekking within the Bulandshahr jungle in Uttar Pradesh, India. Mortified by the recent wolf attacks, the men were hyper vigilant on their journey. Their eyes were peeled for anything that could compromise their safety. Well into their session, the hunters gained sight of a pack of wolves entering a nearby cave. Struck with both fear and determination, the hunters devised a plan to kill the wolves and bring peace back to the locals. They decided to light fires, in an attempt to smoke the canines out of the cave, to make killing them much easier. 

So, this is exactly what they did. As the wolves stumbled out of the cave, they were killed one by one. After most of the pack had been eliminated, the hunters heard what sounded like faint coughs and rustling coming from the cave. They assumed this was the last of the animals and positioned their rifles at ready. A few moments passed before a dark figure emerged from the smoky cave entrance. The sight turned the hunters from fearful to shocked beyond belief.

Once the light had hit the figure, the hunters gazed at what appeared to be a young boy snarling and walking on all fours. They were stunned. In an attempt to help, they tried to capture the small boy, but it was no use. He was just as menacing as the wolves had been. It was not until he curled up next to one of his dead pack mates that they were able to subdue him and get him out of the jungle.

Life in Captivity

Once found, Dina was transported to the Sikandra Mission Orphanage in Agra, India. Everyone was intrigued by the feral boy and quickly began to study his behaviors. Any time the missionaries would attempt to clothe him, Dina would tear the clothes off. He had no use of language and only communicated with howls, whimpers and growls. 

Additionally, he continued to walk on all fours and only eat raw meat. They concluded that the boy had likely been abandoned in the jungle very early on in his life and was adopted by the wolves as one of their own. 

Because of the isolation, Dina also showed no signs of normal human emotion. He never laughed or smiled and did not care to form bonds with any of the missionaries. It was only when another feral child was brought into the orphanage that he showed any sign of companionship to humans. These two children were attached at the hip and would frolic around on all fours playing like two dogs in a park. They would also curl up next to each other to sleep at night.

Tragically, Dina’s companion died. Sanichar went through prolonged sadness – howling and appearing lethargic. It is reported that this was the first time that he really ever showed a human emotion.

A Wolf with a Cigarette

As time passed, Dina grew more docile. The missionaries continued to work on bridging his wild and domestic life, but he showed very minimal improvement. Dina was able to progress to learn to drink from a cup, tolerate some cooked meats, wear clothes and even walk on two legs. He could understand a few words and phrases, but he never learned to read or write.

However, complying to the most basic human nature, Sanichar had a vice. It is reported that he was exposed to smoking and became an avid user until the very end of his life. The “boy wolf” died of tuberculosis in 1895. I can only hope that he passed on to a place with all the raw meat that he could dream of.

After Thoughts on Dina Sanichar

Dina’s story raises a few questions to this day. It drives the importance of early childhood exposure to language and behavior.  Even though it was only a couple years, Dina never learned how to speak or master the basics of human behavior. It also poses the question: Should a child like this have been removed from his niche in the first place. Many argue that an orphanage was not the correct choice. Instead, a one-on-one specialist would have been the only chance at integrating Dina into society. 

All in all, stories like this have practical importance. Learning about history, like the life of Dina Sanichar, is a great leap in the direction of a better today.

The post Dina Sanichar: The Boy Raised by Wolves first appeared on History In Memes.

Imagine: You’re face-to-face with a leopard viciously trying to kill you. We know, this sounds like your worst dream – or more like a nightmare – you’re hoping you wake up from. But, this is something that actually happened to taxidermist Carl Akeley – and he lived to tell the tale.

Unless you’re a pro fighter like Mayweather, there’s no shot of fighting off such a primal animal who is dead-set on killing you. But for Akeley, his encounter with a leopard was not him staring death in the face, but rather, getting into a little scuffle with a bully. No big deal!

So, who is this man who’s able to fight a leopard? Here are five facts about certified badass Carl Akeley and his strange ride to becoming obsessed with taxidermy.

1. Carl Was a Major Advocate For Taxidermy 

Carl Akeley was many things – a naturalist, inventor, conservationist. But was more notably known as a taxidermist. So much so, he’s actually known as the father of modern taxidermy. After viewing an exhibit when he was younger, Carl became fascinated with taxidermy and believed it was an art form. Carl believed it’s important to show people what animals look like in the wild, in their natural habitat. He didn’t “hide his methods, he shared them with museums in hopes of having the animal skins placed on a perfectly molded recreation of the animal’s body, thus melding the artificial and the real to make something educational. His biggest goal was to build a large-scale diorama of Africa with the game that could be found on the plains.”

2. Carl Akeley First Attempted Taxidermy At 12 Years Old

Killing and stuffing animals may not be everybody’s dream job, but it sure was Carl’s! His first attempt at taxidermy was at 12 years old when his friend’s pet canary died. Carl – being the good friend he was – offered to stuff the bird. Stuffing the inside of the bird, as well as sewing glass beads into the eye sockets, Carl fixed and preserved the animal. His attempt fueled his passion for taxidermy further, which led to years of educating and immersing himself in the subject matter. When he turned 19 years old, he was offered an apprenticeship at the Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, which started his journey of museum work all around New York.

3. Near-Death Encounters With Wild Animals

Leopards weren’t the only animals out for Carl’s blood – he has a long list of crazy scary encounters with wild animals. While on Mount Kenya, a bull elephant charged and almost crushed him. Another time he was tag-teamed by three charging rhinos, who just missed hitting him. And thank god for that –  he didn’t have any weapons on him! After successfully shooting a silverback gorilla, the limp, lifeless body came tumbling towards Carl and nearly knocked him off a cliff. Carl’s even shot hyenas, warthogs, and almost got an ostrich.

4. Carl Killed A Leopard With His Bare Hands

The ostrich attempt is where the infamous story of the leopard begins. During his first trip to Africa, Carl was face-to-face with a leopard. While out hunting for ostrich, there was a sound in the tall grass nearby. Figuring it was a hyena or maybe a warthog, Carl did a very foolish thing and shot blindly at the hidden animal. Hearing the animal’s shriek, Carl knew it was no hyena and most certainly was not a warthog. The 80-pound leopard lunged for Carl, sinking her teeth into his forearm. He jammed his arm down her throat while clutching her throat with his other hand in an attempt to strangle and subdue her. 

While discussing the near death incident, Carl explained:

“I couldn’t do it except little by little. When I got enough grip on her throat to loosen her hold just a little she would catch my arm again an inch or two lower down. In this way, I drew the full length of the arm through her mouth inch by inch… [There was] only the sound of the crushing of tense muscles and the choking, snarling grunts of the beast… I felt her relax, a sort of letting go, although she was still struggling. At the same time I felt myself weakening similarly, and then it became a question as to which would give up first.”

– Carl Akeley

Carl was successful, making it out of the fight with his life and with the prize of the killed leopard. That crazy experience didn’t stop him from going back. Carl made a total of five trips to Africa to observe, study, and bring back animals.

5. Carl Akeley Died While In The Field

Spending years and multiple trips to Africa studying animals, Carl also began inventing tools that would help other taxidermists. He invented the “Akeley cement gun,” which mounted animals, as well as the “Akeley camera,” also known as the “Pancake camera”, which helped taxidermists film animals in the wild. It also was impressive mechanically for its ability to be  easily mounted, rotated and reloaded.

Carl Akeley died from a fever he contracted while in Congo in 1926. He died a few miles away from where he had previously observed gorillas during a trip to Congo in 1921.

The post 5 Facts About Taxidermist and Leopard-Fighter Carl Akeley first appeared on History In Memes.