Shamdeo, India, 1972

“This is not like Tarzan,” says Fullerton-Batten. “The children had to fight the animals for their own food – they had to learn to survive. When I read their stories, I was shocked and horrified.” There are 15 cases in her Feral Children project, staged photographs telling the stories of people isolated from human contact, often from a very young age. This one shows Shamdeo, a boy who was found in a forest in India in 1972 – he was estimated to be four years old. “He was playing with wolf cubs. His skin was very dark, and he had sharpened teeth, long hooked fingernails, matted hair and calluses on his palms, elbows and knees. He was fond of chicken-hunting, would eat earth and had a craving for blood. He bonded with dogs.” He never spoke, but learnt some sign language, and died in 1985. (Credit: Julia Fullerton-Batten)