A MAN who claimed to have been raised by wolves has died aged 80.
Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, the so-called “Mowgli of Spain“, had been completely isolated from human society since the age of seven.
Marcos imitating the howls of wolves Credit: @PaisloboPrensa/ youtube
Even decades later, he still had a strong kinship with animals
The Civil Guard discovered the youngster, then aged 19, prowling across the Sierra Morena mountain range on all fours, barefoot and half-naked.
Grunting in response to questions and with thick callouses on his hands and feet, shocked officers wondered how he had survived so long in the wilderness.
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He later claimed that a mother wolf taught him how to find berries and mushrooms to eat – and even flung him hunks of meat to survive.
Marcos, who lived in the northern Spanish province of Ourense, passed away on August 15, aged 80.
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Born in 1946, Marcos’s mother died when he was only three years old – and when his father remarried he was allegedly abused by his stepmother.
Living in poverty, his father sent – or possibly sold – him to work for a goatherder in the mountains.
But when the older man suddenly passed away he left Marcos, then aged around seven, to fend for himself.
He recalled how he was cared for by a she-wolf, saying: “After feeding her pups, she threw me a piece of meat.
Marcos explained that he survived due to the help from wolves Credit: BBC News
The Spaniard learned to communicate by making animal sounds Credit: BBC News
“I took it, ate it, and thought she was going to bite me, but she put her tongue out and started to lick me. After that, I was one of the family.”
The young Spaniard also had a pet snake who he fed with goat’s milk – but was eventually discovered by the Civil Guard in 1965.
Cops were forced to bind and gag him because he kept biting officers.
When his father – who was never charged with child abuse – saw him again, his only comment was to say that his son had lost his jacket.
Following his “rescue” by the Civil Guard, Marcos struggled to adapt to modern life.
In a 2018 interview, he said he loved animals more than humans and that “the happiest days of my life” had been spent in the wilderness.
“I could not cope with so much noise, the cars, and people going back and forwards like ants”, he told the BBC.
“But at least ants all go in the same direction. People went everywhere. I was scared of crossing the road.”
He previously said he found adapting to modern life difficult Credit: BBC News
Marcos playing with a wolf and a green shred of plant Credit: @PaisloboPrensa/ youtube
He added that people laughed at him because he didn’t understand football or modern politics.
Working was also difficult because colleagues took advantage of his naivety to swindle him out of money.
Trying to return to his childhood wolf pack was impossible however.
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.”
His story sparked worldwide interest – with PHD thesis being written about his life as well as a 2010 film called Among Wolves.
