

Bio 07 Amala & Kamala

I've started reading these Arthur Custance papers and came across a reference to the story of Amala and Kamala. They are among the best documented cases of feral children. The story is there in brief at Wikipedia, with other links. See here.
These were two young girls discovered living with wolves in 1920 near Midnapore, India. When rediscovered Kamala appears to have been about 7 or 8, Amala much younger, just an infant (18 months?). They were probably not sisters but were abducted by the wolves at different times. The two were first observed by missionary Joseph Singh, who worked at an orphanage in the area. He had observed two human-like figures living with wolves in an old termite mound. He captured them and took them back to his orphanage to care for them. Amala, the younger, died after only a year, but Kamala lived until 1929 when she died of typhoid fever. Singh later published his diaries recounting his experiences with the girls.
According to him, both exhibited wolf-like behaviours. Both had developed thick callouses on palms and knees from having walked on all fours. They were mostly nocturnal, had an aversion to sunshine and could see well in the dark. They also exhibited an acute sense of smell and an enhanced ability to hear. They enjoyed raw meat and would eat out of a bowl on the ground, much like dogs. In addition, they exhibited a hypersensitivity to touch and hated wearing clothes. In fact, they seemed to be insensitive to cold and heat. They showed few human emotions beyond fear.
Singh took on the difficult task of trying to integrate the two girls into human society. Kamala, the elder girl, was eventually house trained and became used to the company of other human beings. She was also eventually able to walk upright, although never proficiently (she would often revert to all fours when she needed to go somewhere quickly).
When they were found, Kamala and Amala were ignorant of human language. Both girls made high-pitched wailing noises, not unlike a wolf's howling. Amala began to show signs of progress towards human speech like a normal toddler before her early death, however, Kamala's progress was much slower. After several years in Singh's care, she had only learned about 40 words and had a poor grasp of grammar.


meinster said...

Quite amazing.

ton said...

I did not believe this history when i heard it for the first time. I wish it wouldn't happen so to these poor girls.- tonton

Anonymous said...

Yes, I found this to be an interesting story as well, but it is proved to be fake. The man, Singh, made up the story of the two "feral girls" to make money for the orphanage. Serge Aroles, proved that this was a hoax by dating the pictures taken, looking at the girls appearances according to the man who made it up. This would be great if it were true, but it is indeed a fake story.

Gary Brady said...

Thanks for alerting us to the fact