A MAN who claims to have been raised by wolves in a remote Spanish wilderness has said he prefers animals to human beings.
The Civil Guard found a 19 -year old Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja running around barefoot and half-naked with the wolves in the Sierra Morena mountain range.
BBC NewsMarcos Rodríguez Pantoja was dubbed the Mowgli of Spain when he was found by authorities[/caption]
BBC NewsHe said that he longed for the days when he lived with wild animals[/caption]
His mother died when he was three and his father later left him to live with an elderly goatherd who cared for 300 animals. But when the old man vanished, Marcos was alone.
The Spaniard claims to have been raised by a family of wolves, who taught him to forage for food and survive in the wilderness. At night he is said to have slept in a cave surrounded by wolves, deer, snakes and owls.
Now 72, Marcos has said that modern life has left him disappointed and that he longs for the days when he was a wolf boy.
Speaking to the BBC he said: “I could not cope with so much noise, the cars, and people going back and forwards like ants.
“But at least ants all go in the same direction. People went everywhere. I was scared of crossing the road.”
He said that most people found him amusing him because he was oblivious to football and modern politics.
Marcos said that he was often cheated and let down by others in the work place, and struggled to fit in.
In the past he has attempted to go back to the mountains, but senses that the wolf community no longer accepted him because he was part of the modern world.
Speaking to El Pais he said: “You can tell that they are right there, you hear them panting, it gives you goosebumps … but it’s not that easy to see them.
“There are wolves and if I call out to them they are going to respond, but they are not going to approach me,
“I smell like people, I wear cologne.”
He said that the cave he once called home was now fenced off by electric gates and that the area had changed.
His life has inspired books, academic studies and even a movie. He claims to have become adopted by a family of wolves after he spent the day playing with the pups in a cave.
After he fell asleep he woke up and watched the mother wolf feeding the pups. She then threw him a piece of meat, and licked him after he ate it.
He claims the wolves even taught him how to survive and which berries and mushrooms were safe to eat.
He now lives in a small house, with cave-like low ceilings which is packed with memorabilia and drawings.
He also has a patio full of plants and flowers to help him feel as if he is in the wild.
BBC NewsMarcos said that he has struggled to adjust to modern life[/caption]