Marina Chapman, British Housewife, Claims She Was Raised By Monkeys In Colombia

Maria Chapman, a British housewife claims she survived for 5 years with Capuchin monkeys in South America after being kidnapped and abandoned at the age of five. Apparently she survived for 2 days alone before coming across the troop of monkeys and following them.

The British housewife alleges that capuchin monkeys raised her after she was kidnapped in Colombia and abandoned in a remote jungle... ...Chapman alleges that she was kidnapped when she was 5 years old, presumably for ransom, and then left for dead in the jungle. Capuchin monkeys reportedly adopted her, fed her and acclimated her to their lifestyle.

After about five years living with the monkeys, Chapman was found by hunters and sold to a brothel, according to the report. In her teens, she became a maid, and in her mid-twenties, on a trip to Britain, she met and married her husband, John. The two had children together.

Huffington Post

Apparently, despite being married and having two children, she hasn't lost all of her wild side, including expecting her children to make noises for food, being able to scale trees in seconds and catching wild birds and rabbits with her bare hands.

"When we wanted food, we'd have to make noises for it," her daughter told the newspaper. "All my schoolfriends loved Mum as she was so unusual. She was childlike, too, in many ways."

Although her life is very different in England, Champan still embraces her primal side "by scaling trees in seconds, catching wild birds and rabbits with her bare hands, as well as milking the odd passing cow."

Huffington Post

I'm not sure what to make of this. Apparently a small child could perhaps fit into a troop of Capuchin monkeys if it didn't display any aggression.

Feral children who have lived with animals tend to display stunted mental development. Being isolated from humans from the age of 5 for five years would surely have stunted her mental development in some way, yet there appears to be no evidence of this.

Here are the original story's links

The Australian

The Australian

She sounds like me
What a lucky lucky bugger I woulda loved that as a kid .
S+F dude great story

Interesting story! But ...

Feral children who have lived with animals tend to display stunted mental development. Being isolated from humans from the age of 5 for five years would surely have stunted her mental development in some way, yet there appears to be no evidence of this.

Then from the article.

"When we wanted food, we'd have to make noises for it," her daughter told the newspaper. "All my schoolfriends loved Mum as she was so unusual. She was childlike, too, in many ways."

So clearly it did effect her.

Originally posted by OccamsRazor04

"She was childlike, too, in many ways."

So clearly it did effect her.

Surely being isolated from humans for 5 years from the age of 5 would lead to more profound mental arrestment than being somewhat childish?

One expert, quoted by the Australian is incredulous about the story

One expert told us: "Chimpanzees, yes, I could imagine that. And possibly orangutans. But capuchins? That would be truly extraordinary."Capuchins are very sociable and intelligent animals, but they can also be highly aggressive, territorial and vicious. They have been known to kill each other in territorial disputes.

"An adult male capuchin monkey weighs around 6 or 7kg, about half the size of a three-year-old child. It wouldn’t be able to pick up a baby, let alone a small girl of four. "They live in colonies of around 30 or 40 and roam the jungle, covering around 12-18km a day, so how a human would be able to follow them and become part of the colony I do not know.

"I could imagine a young child learning certain skills from capuchins, especially from those primates which have grown up in areas populated by humans, but it stretches the imagination to think of a child becoming a part of a capuchin family."

The Australian

I personally don't find the idea of a 5 year old being able to move 12-18km a day beyond reasonable. On the other hand, capuchin monkeys are apparently very aggressive and are know to kill each other.

The story is possible, if a little extraordinary.

Originally posted by ollncasino

Originally posted by OccamsRazor04

"She was childlike, too, in many ways."

So clearly it did effect her.

Surely being isolated from humans for 5 years from the age of 5 would lead to more profound mental arrestment than being somewhat childish?

One expert, quoted by the Australian is incredulous about the story

One expert told us: "Chimpanzees, yes, I could imagine that. And possibly orangutans. But capuchins? That would be truly extraordinary."Capuchins are very sociable and intelligent animals, but they can also be highly aggressive, territorial and vicious. They have been known to kill each other in territorial disputes.

"An adult male capuchin monkey weighs around 6 or 7kg, about half the size of a three-year-old child. It wouldn’t be able to pick up a baby, let alone a small girl of four. "They live in colonies of around 30 or 40 and roam the jungle, covering around 12-18km a day, so how a human would be able to follow them and become part of the colony I do not know.

"I could imagine a young child learning certain skills from capuchins, especially from those primates which have grown up in areas populated by humans, but it stretches the imagination to think of a child becoming a part of a capuchin family."

The Australian

I personally don't find the idea of a 5 year old being able to move 12-18km a day beyond reasonable. On the other hand, capuchin monkeys are apparently very aggressive and are know to kill each other.

The story is possible, if a little extraordinary.

The incredulous happens every day, and I am a pretty firm skeptic. Now she was 5 when raised by them, I don't see how they determined what species raised her. I am glad with all she has been through (assuming it's true) she is still able to lead a "normal" life.

reply to post by ollncasino

children who have lived with animals tend to display stunted mental development

you speak as if this were some sort of fact

can you or your wife scale a tree in seconds? [no offense intended to the missus]
she's probably a lot smarter and wiser than most folks, the years up to around ten are crucial in a humans development
as the brain is developing, it's obvious to me this woman is more Right-brained than left.
meanwhile the local schools seem to have done a bang up job stunting her children
who do not seem realize, like the "journalist' and you OP, that Chapman was trying to teach them the capuchin language
and obviously few, with the exception of twins, realize the enormous advantages of having an animal/secret language under their belt, especially in this age of surveillance.

ho-hum and the self styled "superior" and "civilized" "people" as clueless as usual.
kind of ironic as i'm sure that in an emergency chapman will be keeping her wits about her

whilst everyone else, including her brood will be:

"chimping" out.