Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, a man who spent what he described as his '12 most beautiful years' living with a wolf pack in the Spanish wilderness, has died at the age of 80. Pantoja passed away on August 15.
His unusual life began when, at seven years old, he was sent to the Sierra Morena mountain range in Andalusia as a goatherd. After his mother died in childbirth and his father abandoned him, he was left alone when the man training him either died or disappeared. He survived by observing animals and was eventually adopted by a mother wolf, who fed him and allowed him to sleep with her cubs in caves.
In 1965, at the age of 19, Pantoja was discovered by Civil Guards. He was described as living like an animal, communicating only through grunts and running barefoot. The officers reportedly had to remove him from the mountains by force. He recounted in interviews that the wolves pushed meat towards him and licked him, accepting him into their pack.
Returning to civilization proved to be a difficult and frightening experience for Pantoja. He was sent to an orphanage where nuns taught him to walk upright, speak, and eat at a table. His feet had developed thick callouses, and he used a wheelchair for a time. He was terrified of the sounds of the modern world and initially resisted sleeping in a bed.
After completing military service, Pantoja worked in various jobs, including as a shepherd and in the hospitality industry. However, he struggled to fully integrate into society, reporting that he was taken advantage of financially due to his limited understanding of human interactions and commerce. He once stated in an interview that he was disappointed with human nature and wished he could return to the wilderness.
Pantoja eventually attempted to revisit the mountains where he had lived, only to find the area had changed significantly with new housing and electric gates. He found that the wolves no longer recognized him, keeping their distance. He attributed this to his human scent, noting that he wore cologne, which separated him from his past life in the wild.
His story was the subject of the 2010 Spanish film 'Among Wolves'.