'Feral' child barks and hisses after being raised as a pet

According to police, the child, who has only been identified as "Natasha", was so neglected that she had barely developed a human vocabulary, communicating instead through animal noises.

Although she lived with her father, grandparents and other relatives, Natasha was essentially treated like one of a large number of dogs and cats that shared a small flat in the isolated city of Chita.

Like the other pets, she lapped at her food from a bowl on the floor and had never learned how to use cutlery.

Welfare officers, who were led to the flat by concerned neighbours, have placed Natasha in an orphanage. Although malnourished and small for her age, she appeared to be relatively healthy considering her ordeal, a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

He said the police were looking for the girl's parents, who are believed to be divorced.

Welfare organisations say that child abuse in Russia is worsening, particularly in the Far East where traditional problems such as alcoholism and unemployment are magnified.

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The website FeralChildren.com has additional information on the phenomenon whereby children raised in the company of wild animals adopt their mannerisms. It also provides a short list of feral child hoaxes over the past century, as such incidents are usually the stuff of folklore. Natasha's story, corroborated by a number of news sources, appears to be the real thing. MORE...