'Half-Animal' Woman Is Discovered After Spending 19 Years Alone in Cambodian Jungle

sir drinks-a-lot

Philosopher
sir drinks-a-lot
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
5,731
Location
Cole Valley, CA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A woman who disappeared in the jungles of northeastern Cambodia as a child has apparently been found after living in the wild for 19 years, police said Thursday.

The woman — believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, now 27 years old — cannot speak any intelligible language, so details of her saga have been difficult to confirm.
Click to expand...

(source)

I find this fascinating. If you Google her name, Rochom P'ngieng, you will find a few other articles. I wonder how she differs from us due to her lack of language and her different experiences. I'd assume she would differ from ost of us quite a bit anyways, being from a Cambodian tribe.

I've heard that humans who don't learn language when they are young can never learn, but I'm assuming she could speak somewhat when she went missing, since she was 8 years old. I'd love to hear more about her habits and behavior, but have the feeling this sory will probably die. She'll be released back into the jungle and we'll never hear about her again.
 
sir drinks-a-lot said:
(source)

I find this fascinating. If you Google her name, Rochom P'ngieng, you will find a few other articles. I wonder how she differs from us due to her lack of language and her different experiences. I'd assume she would differ from ost of us quite a bit anyways, being from a Cambodian tribe.

I've heard that humans who don't learn language when they are young can never learn, but I'm assuming she could speak somewhat when she went missing, since she was 8 years old. I'd love to hear more about her habits and behavior, but have the feeling this sory will probably die. She'll be released back into the jungle and we'll never hear about her again.
Click to expand...
It will be interesting to see if she eventually recalls any language.

I can't help but wonder why she ended up being separated from her family and village for so long. It seems she was caught scavaging from a local farmer, perhaps scavaging is how she survived most of those 19 years. But my main point is that while she was in the jungle, she apparently was not that far away from civilization. It seems she could have returned if she wanted to, and returned much earlier.

I also find it interesting that she took up a nocturnal life style. If she ever ends up talking again, it would be interesting to find out why she chose to do that.
 
Last edited:
You can! You can! Yu can! Lu can! Lucan!

Anyone remember that show?

Isn't 8 kinda a high age for this? I would think an 8 year old would have the wits to get back to where ever she came from.

Was it Lucan who was supposed to climb a rope for gym and the teacher asks him how fast he can do it and he replies, "Depends on what's chasing me." He then remembers as a child being chased by a bear then skimmies up the rope in record time.
 
Last edited:
These are known as feral children. There was a show in the UK showing the case of a Russian girl who was raised by a dog, it was the most shocking thing I´ve ever seen. It feels horrible to see a human being behaving like an animal. I couldn´t hardly sleep that night. Some people are skeptic about these cases but how can they be?
Well I found that tv programme in you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsfvSWljqpc

I have to add that eventually she learnt to speak the language but her mental development was not of her age. This is something that happens in all the cases.
 
Last edited:
OK, this is a tame enough topic for a first post...

If you can survive in the jungle for that long, then you've got the sense to find your way home. If the DNA is a match, my guess is the girl ran away because of some fear of returning home. And, wild behavior after 19 years of jungle living is no surprise--you shoud see my kids, who have never been in a jungle! If DNA proves the family connection it would solve the mystery, but not the next step for the family or the girl.
 
Didn't this animal woman go on to sing, make a book called Sex and make Kabballa more popular?
 
I really hate the headline. Unless her cells somehow developed the ability to produce cellulose while she lived in the jungle she's 100% animal, just like all of us. She would be more correctly called feral Q-source pointed out, or descriped as socially retarded. Her condition, if this story isn't bogus, is more akin to autism than to becoming "animalistic."
 
An article on the BBC website suggests that the story may be false not least because her hair is short and there is little evidence of callousing of the feet and hands.
 
If she is in some way "mentally challenged" then it may be the case that her parents have been hiding her from the rest of the community from fear of some sort of shame. She has not been schooled or learned social contact, and is obviously scavenging at night which indicates lack of adequate nutrition. Since humans are not adapted for nocturnal living, this does seem to be forced behaviour, not opportunistic behaviour.

Summary of my prediction: She is a shunned and long-hidden daughter with mental issues.
 
My mistake, it was the Torygraph (may require registration)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...CFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/22/wcam22.xml

From the article, key points of doubt

Her palms and the soles of her feet are smooth, not hard and tough as they might be after years in the jungle.
Click to expand...
She has the features of a teenager not the 27-year-old that Rochom P'ngieng would be today
Click to expand...
"I think the girl is not like a girl who has been living in the jungle for a very long time," said Kim Savun, the village doctor. "I don't believe that. Why is her hair short? It should be long. Her legs and arms are very normal."
Click to expand...
 
In light of these features it's more likely that either the family or a thrid party was keeping her hidden all this time. A terrible thought.
 
Zep said:
If she is in some way "mentally challenged" then it may be the case that her parents have been hiding her from the rest of the community from fear of some sort of shame. She has not been schooled or learned social contact, and is obviously scavenging at night which indicates lack of adequate nutrition. Since humans are not adapted for nocturnal living, this does seem to be forced behaviour, not opportunistic behaviour.

Summary of my prediction: She is a shunned and long-hidden daughter with mental issues.
Click to expand...


This is my feeling, she could be developmental disabbled, possibly have autism or childhood schizophrenia. Short hair eh, how about cut finger and toe nails.
 
Beady said:
I remember, 'bout 30 years ago, there were news stories of a "kangaroo woman" in Australia. These stories pop up from time to time (Romulus and Remus, etc), and I have yet to see one authenticated.
Click to expand...

Though this particular case might be in doubt, you can look up cases of feral children here.
 
Dancing David said:
This is my feeling, she could be developmental disabbled, possibly have autism or childhood schizophrenia. Short hair eh, how about cut finger and toe nails.
Click to expand...

Echoing this also in this thread I am.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochom_P'ngieng

From:

Many have begun to question Sal Lou's story. How, they ask, could a woman from the jungle have such smooth hands or soft feet. If she had been truly wild, why are her fingernails neatly trimmed and her hair not a matted tangle, they say. "I am doubtful that she went missing 19 years ago. I came here to see what she looked like, and she looks normal like us," said Dub Thol, who travelled from a neighbouring district to see the woman.
Click to expand...
 
Jungle Girl

Zep said:
If she is in some way "mentally challenged" then it may be the case that her parents have been hiding her from the rest of the community from fear of some sort of shame. She has not been schooled or learned social contact, and is obviously scavenging at night which indicates lack of adequate nutrition. Since humans are not adapted for nocturnal living, this does seem to be forced behaviour, not opportunistic behaviour.

Summary of my prediction: She is a shunned and long-hidden daughter with mental issues.
Click to expand...

If this community is subsistance-living with "shelter" rather than more substancial housing, it doesn't seem possible to keep this "captive girl" a secret from neighbors...for 19 years. But it is hard to understand the uncalloused-hand report if she has been living in the wild. Scavenging at night could match either scenario.
 
This fable appears to have more to do with the adventures of Lord Greystoke (1912) than Victor, Le Sauvage D'Aveyron (1799) or The Wild Boy of Burundi (1978).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

ISF - Join now!

Every member here is approved by hand. No bots, no spam, just people who care about evidence and honest debate.

Membership is free!

Create your free account

Back
Top Bottom