BABOON BOY WAS REAL LIFE TARZAN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22647, 26 May 1948, Page 5

BABOON BOY WAS REAL LIFE TARZAN

LONDON, May 11. South Africa's “baboon boy” a real life Tarzan —died today, aged about 40, on the farm where he workedThe amazing story of this Kaffir, which is backed by Professor Dart, of Witwaterstrand University, against the scepticism of other naturalists, began (so it runs), when he was kidnapped by baboons, with, which he lived until he was about 12. Two policemen in 1921 shot at a pack of baboons. They scattered, leaving one. the baboon boy. Brought back to the world of humans, he could make only gutteral noises and walked on all fours. He learned to speak, do simple work, walk upright and eat man's food. He called himself Lucas. Told His Story When able to reconstruct the events of his childhood with the baboons, he said:— , , , , “My food consisted mainly ot crickets, ostrich eggs, prickly pears and wild honey.. I was kicked on the head by an ostrich when raiding a nest, and often stung by bees while robbing hives. ... , “Once I fell over an ant mil and broke a leg. It mended itself. I walked on all fours, and slept naked in the bush.” But he could never recall many details of his Tarzan life. To the end of his life he liked raw meat, and his favourite dish was live lizards.