John Ssebunya: The Living Tarzan (Phil Collins, Garfield, Song of Skyrim) [Daily Bloggity Entry #38]

Date: 30 March 2014
Time: 1:11 AM ET
Mood: Sleepy (zZz)

I think it's safe to assume that most of us know the story of Tarzan (or at least have seen the movie). If you are unfamiliar with it, it's about a man who is raised by gorillas after his parents are brutally murdered, and in such gains the ability to communicate with them and adapt their mannerisms. Now, many of us probably would consider this a hoax and declare that a feat like this is just impossible. Impossible? No. Highly unlikely? Probably, yes. The reason why I say that is because in a 1999 report, a feral child - a child raised by animals - was documented, a child who goes by the name of John Ssebunya. This blog entry is dedicated to his entry into the wild and his emergence as a half ape, half human.

Daily Music - "Son of Man" by Phil Collins
John was born in Uganda, and at the age of 2 was abandoned in the dense forests that surveyed the land. With his mother believed to have been murdered, the father reportedly felt like John couldn't be raised by him alone and thus was left in the jungle to fend for himself However, there isolated by mankind, he was oddly accepted into a pack of African Green monkeys. He learned their ways and quickly integrated and became like one of their own. He learned how to communicate with the monkeys, as well as how to scavenge his own fruit and food for nourishment. However, this life would not last forever. In 1991, it was said that a tribeswoman that was looking for food found the then-5-year-old John in the woods and immediately went back to her tribe to get people together to get him back. When they did return for John, frightened by these humans he ran up a tree and started to throw branchess at the villagers. Even the monkeys themselves put up a fight, as they believed John was one of them and they weren't going to let go one of their own that easily. Eventually though, the villagers were able to recover John and bring him back into the tribe.

Daily Comic - "Spiders" by Jim Davis of Garfield

His integration into human society didn't go that smoothly. Over 8 years, John had to learn the commonalities of being a human, including how to speak, eat food, and learn to walk; things that we consider to be innate. When they had found John, he was considered hypertrychositic, or having abnormal amounts of hair growth on his body; he was practically an ape when they found him. The brands in his knees showed that he had never learned how to walk, and his feet were defecated and destroyed by worms. He had difficulty learning to speak, but he astonishingly enough was able to overcome such odds and actually ended up becoming one of the village's most popular singers. Today, he owns his own home and hopes to one day start a family of his own.

Daily Video - "Song of Skyrim" by animator Harry Partridge
John lived in the jungles of Uganda for over 3 years, and eventually was able to assimilate back into human life through constant struggles. Recalling his past in the jungle, John stated that "it was very frightening, but then I saw the monkeys and they brought all this food to me. The monkeys used to love me - we played together all the time." To this day he still has a love for the monkeys and can actually still communicate with them to some extent.What do you think of John's story? What kind of hardships do you think he had to overcome whether in the jungle or going back to civilization? Do you think you could do it? Comment below as I'd love to hear and discuss what you have to say about this!

‡ As always, the "Daily Bloggity" is self written by myself and includes just some of my opinions on different mediums. If you have a subject that you might want me to touch on, feel free to PM me or comment below! I would love to hear some of your ideas! Tune in tomorrow at 5PM Eastern Time for the next edition of the "Daily Bloggity!" Cheers! ‡

- elheroeoscuro