It is entirely possible for a child to be raised by animals from when they are very young, although cases, especially today, are extremely rare. Animals which raise children are often very social animals, such as Grey Wolves and Monkeys. Every member of a Grey Wolf pack looks after the pack's pups. At first the mother (usually the alpha female as most of the time only the alphas will breed in a pack) will suckle the pups, then when they are older other pack members will regurgitate food for the pups (which is a bit like baby food) and then finally bring them back solid food, so it is possible that a human baby can live off this food as it resembles the nutritional steps a baby would take (mother's milk, baby food, solid food).
A child usually has a much greater chance of being accepted by a mother if she has not long since given birth. This is because it is the mother's instinct (due to abnormally high oxytocin hormonal levels which make us feel love) to nurture anything which seems small and vulnerable like one of her own newborns. However, a child may be accepted at any time of the year but it depends upon the animal and luck of the child.
Humans are capable of living off a small range of foods (i.e. an almost exclusively carnivorous diet) as long as they have ate these things from when they were young as the body has not yet adjusted to a different diet. For example, you probably wouldn't be able to suddenly give up all sugary processed foods one day and live like a member of an indigenous tribe and visa-versa because your body has been used to processed food since you were young, it would take time to adjust to a different diet.
Human children can make it through the wilderness due to the nurturing of animals, however it is very difficult and luck needs to be on their side.
They can also survive the poisonous berries, insects and weather with luck. Their bodies will have adjusted to the conditions better than that of a civilised human who has grown up in modern society because they would have been raised there from a young age.
A good example of how the body adjusts to certain environments is how when a 'feral' child has been taken out of the wild, they usually die at a young age of a modern disease or a strange diet. The body hasn't adjusted to it and it cannot cope well.
So to answer your question shortly:
Yes it is possible, and there have been a fair few cases. It is more likely if the child is fairly young (about 2 or 3) when they start to be raised by animals (because their body can adjust easier than an older child but they are not too young so that they cannot fend for themselves at all) and if the animal is a social animal that takes care of its young such as Grey Wolves.
Here is a link you should check out of modern day examples of children who were raised by animals:
http://listverse.com/2008/03/07/10-moder...
Hope this has helped!
Thank you very much.
It's just a myth which came about after the film "Tarzan"
Im interested in this. And I would appreciate if someone can explain this to me.
Is it possible that wolfs, chimps or some other animals are capable of raising children? If they are, why is that, due to mothers instinct or something else? Are human babies capable of making it through the wilderness just because of will of some animals to nurse and protect them?
Is it possible that babies can survive all the danger such as poisonous insects, plants, cold, rainfalls...
I know about many cases, Amala and Kamala, John Ssebunya etc. to other cases of feral children, such as legend of Romulus and Remus.
Is it really true that helpless babies could survive through all that, and be raised as a feral children.
Can their metabolism accept that type of food and environment. Are there in the world any known case of feral children, where few months old baby was left with an animals and lived through?
Whatever you know about this, feel free to share.
Thank you.
