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.Amala and Kamala were not the only Indian children said to beraised by wolves.A wolf-boy was found in Sikandra in 1867 andanother near Allabahad in 1926.These feral or wild children fol-low in the tradition of the mythical Romulus and Remus, legendaryfounders of Rome who were said to have been suckled by a she-wolf.Actual evidence that any mother wolf nursed and took care of found-ling human infants is sadly lacking.Animal expert Lois Bueler statesin Wild Dogs of the World, & since wolves nurse their pups for less thantwo months and subsequently feed them regurgitated food, it wouldbe impossible for a human infant to survive this way. 44Still, it s fascinating to contemplate just how a person would turnout if reared by wolves, and with no human parents, church, school,television, or other influences most people take for granted.But couldsuch a crude upbringing turn a human being into a werewolf? Will the Real Werewolf Please Stand Up? 51jIt s true that stories often emphasize the feral children s prefer-ence for carrion and raw meat, something that is also believed true ofwerewolves, and that their nails and hair may be long and claw-likedue to lack of grooming.But not even the most enthusiastic supportersof Amala and Kamala ever hinted that the girls grew fangs, pointedears, body fur, or other hallmarks of werewolves.They were still com-pletely human.They were simply very poorly socialized humans.Oneresearcher, Bruno Bettelheim, went so far as to claim that Amala andKamala were actually suffering from the childhood mental disorderknown as autism,45 which often results in poor interpersonal skills andwhat seems like anti-social behavior.But even if true feral children have actually existed, it is still veryunlikely anyone would ever mistake one of them for a wolf or were-wolf.Reverend Singh knew immediately on the day he found them inthat termite mound that he was looking at small, human females, notlittle she-wolves, no matter how caked with dirt or contorted theirarms and legs might have been.It isn t likely, then, that feral childrencan be used to explain away the idea of werewolves.THE ULTIMATE BAD HAIR DAYThere are people with another very rare condition that makes themvery hairy who have been credited with inspiring the idea of man-wolves.Individuals born with a trait known as congenital hypertri-chosis may grow thick, furry hair over more than 90 percent of theirbodies, including their faces.A Mexican family with the surname ofRamos-Gomez is famous for this characteristic.Some family membershave more hair than others, but a few are almost completely coveredwith dark fur.Ramos-Gomez sons Victor and Gabriel bill themselvesas the Wolf Brothers, and have traveled the world as a hirsute tra-peze act.There is also a young man in China, Yu Zhenhuan, who callshimself Hairboy and is 96 percent hairy.A musician, he dreams ofbecoming the world s first furry rock star. 52 WEREWOLVESiFigure 5.1 Hair covers 96 percent of Yu Zhenhuan s body, making him China shairiest man.(Claro Cortes IV/Reuters/Corbis)These people are not werewolves.They are ordinary human beingsin every other way, and do not feel compelled to howl at the moon orgo prowling for human flesh.They do not have muzzles, fangs, ortails.And given a close, full-body shave, some laser hair removal, or agood waxing, they would not appear wolf-like at all.Some skeptics have suggested a disease called porphyria might beresponsible for legends of werewolves.Porphyria is another congenitalcondition that causes extreme sensitivity to light, tooth and skin dis-coloration, and sometimes malformation of bones and cartilage.Por-phyria can even bring on hypertrichosis.Other symptoms are mentaldelusions and hysteria.People with extreme forms of this disease, leftuntreated, might act in strange ways and look abnormal.But again, thecondition would not cause anyone to be mistaken for a wolf without ahuge amount of imagination on the part of the observer. Will the Real Werewolf Please Stand Up? 53jLYCANTHROPY: MAD FOR THE MOON?People who believe that they actually turn into wolves at the fullmoon often call themselves lycanthropes or lycans, after the Greekking, Lycaon, discussed in Chapter 1.Lycanthropy is also the namepsychologists give to a certain mental disorder.It is sometimes called wolves fury and can include symptoms such as howling, skulkingaround cemeteries, and craving raw meat or carrion
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