What makes humans human? Are we the result of our nature, or is it life in society that shapes us into what we are? There are recurring reports of people who have survived without social contacts, even having lived among animals. Kaspar Hauser is perhaps one of the most famous cases, but by no means the only one. P. J. Blumenthal has compiled numerous fascinating and shocking cases from the last 1500 years: from two boys who were allegedly raised by wolves in Hesse in the 14th century, to the Wild Peter, who was discovered in a field near Hameln in the 18th century, and Donald Kellogg, who was raised alongside the baby monkey Gua for several months in the 1930s. The reports of the "monkey girl" from Uttar Pradesh, who was found in India in 2017, show that the "wild human" remains a topic of interest.