Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 27, 2012

11

JUST FOR BEST FRIENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 27, 2012 

MODERN DAY JANE TELLS HER STORY 

“I WAS RAISED BY MONKEYS”

 Every now and then, an internet news headline will pop up 
that really catches my attention and I am compelled to drill down 
and delve into the full story before I continue on with the task at 
hand. This past week, I was logging on to read my e-mail when 
I noticed a trending news link that read, “Woman Raised by Monkeys”. Clearly I couldn’t pass that one up! 
I assumed I would probably be disappointed when I got to the news page, because the story just had to be a 
hoax or a joke, but much to my surprise the article was written about a real woman who claims to have been 
raised by wild monkeys for several of her childhood years, in the jungles of Columbia, South America.

 In the 1950s, Marina Chapman (a name she gained later in life) was a small child living with her birth family 
near the city of Cucuta, Colombia when at 5 years old, according to her best recollection, she was abducted 
from her home, presumably for ransom money. As it turned out, however the kidnapping must have gone 
wrong, because she was later left for dead in a remote jungle area close to the Venezuelan border. Chapman 
says that it wasn’t long before she was taken in by a family of about 20 Capuchin monkeys, and spent 5 years 
being cared for and coddled by the entire pack. After her 5 year experience living with the monkeys and 
having no interaction with humans, she was discovered by hunters who sold her to a brothel in exchange for 
a parrot.

 In time she was able to escape from the brothel and lived in the streets for a while until she was offered a 
job as a house maid for a Columbian family, who then took her in and treated her like their own. It was there 
that she gave herself the name “Marina Luz”, and had the opportunity to work on her speaking & social skills, 
and re-learn how to live in a normal home with other human beings. In 1977, Marina was invited to join her 
surrogate Columbian family on a business trip to Bradford, England where she met her future husband, John 
Chapman, while attending a church service. John, a bacteriologist, and Marina now have 3 grown children 
who have always been very proud of the fact that their mother could climb a tree better and faster than anyone 
else in the neighborhood! They enjoy sharing the remarkable bed time stories their mother told them growing 
up, about her childhood being raised in the jungle by a family of monkeys. 

 Even aside from the amazing details of how Marina could possibly have managed to survive all that she 
went through as a little girl, this remarkable true story is one that I would call ‘stranger than fiction‘. I mean, 
this lady is a true modern day “Jane”, straight out of the Tarzan movies. The fact that the wild monkeys were 
willing to take her in and help her survive, teach her how to climb trees and catch prey, and allow her to live 
with them in their private space is nothing less than a mind-blower to me. One would have to assume those 
monkeys, who are better known for their aggressive response to an outsider, were receptive of that child 
because they knew she was vulnerable and would not present a threat to them. It indicates the sensitive nature 
of the species, I think, and it tells you something we may not otherwise have learned about the internal nature 
of those monkeys. Of course we all know monkeys are more human-like than most wild animals, but let’s face 
it, any animal living in the jungle would typically be expected to attack a human who invades their personal 
space, in their own defense. All I can say is, “Wow, now that is just some crazy stuff right there”!

 In addition to spending time with her family and tending to typical daily tasks in the home, Marina 
now spends a lot of her time helping at-risk youth through the social services department in her town. I 
don’t know whether she is 
involved in working with 
animals at all, but I can’t 
help thinking she would 
be great at it. Chapman has 
shared her remarkable story 
with several journalists over 
the years, but now, with 
the help of her daughter, 
Vanessa she is working on 
a book called, The Girl With 
No Name, The Incredible 
True Story of a Child Raised 
by Monkeys. Her book is due 
out in April 2013. I don’t 
know about you, but I want 
to be in line to buy that book 
as soon as it hits the shelves. 
There are also rumors of a 
Documentary in the works.


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc


LENDING A PAW THERAPY 
DOGS” SPONSOR PET FOOD 
DRIVE

Lending a Paw Therapy Dogs is sponsoring a Pet Food Drive to 
support Foothill Unity Center’s Pet Food Bank as part of a pet 
wedding celebration.

On Sunday, November 18 at 10:00

At the Arcadia Congregational United Church of 
Christ

2607 S. Santa Anita in Arcadia

Therapy Dogs Ms.Margaret Rose Cortland and

Mr. Sundance Kid Melle

Will celebrate their wedding vows to be officiated by

Rev. Dr. Jolene Cadenbach

Because the happy couple is aware of how the poor economy has 
affected many pet owners’ ability to keep their pets, they are requesting 
donations of dog and cat brand name dry food for the 
Foothill Unity Center in lieu of wedding gifts; www.foothillunitycenter.
org. Donations by check (made out to the Foothill Unity 
Center) or cash also will be accepted. There will be a donation 
collection point at the wedding reception, or

contact Lending a Paw Therapy Dogs at 626-357-3575 to arrange 
a pickup. 

Foothill Unity Center serves the Foothill communities of the San 
Gabriel Valley and is headquartered in Monrovia. The Pet Food 
Bank helps people that would otherwise have to give up their pets 
because they do not have the money to feed them. In the first 
eight months of 2012, the Center has provided 671 unduplicated 
families with pet food. Lending a Paw Therapy Dogs has established 
a goal of at least 2000 pounds of pet food to be collected in 
order to sustain this program through the Holidays.

In addition, Maggie and Sundance would be honored to have you 
and your significant

dog* attend the festivities. The reception will be on the church 
grounds immediately following the ceremony. The blessing of 
the animals will take place during the reception. (*It is extremely 
important that your pet is on a leash, friendly and have “church 
manners.” Clean up bags will be supplied if needed.)

Please RSVP to either twokuute@gmail.com or Immelle@aol.
com 

 

Our grateful thanks to this event’s generous supporters including: 
wonder Dog Ranch, Karren’s Kritters (Pet Rescue), Voice Communications, 
Cactus Communications, Happy Paws Dog

Grooming, and Monrovia Floral.


PET OF THE WEEK: SANDY - #A4500873

Meet the lovely Sandy (A4500873). Sandy is a wiggly and kissy six month old female brown and gold 
Golden Retriever mix puppy who was brought to the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center on October 
18th as a stray. Weighing twenty-six pounds, Sandy is full of love for life and wishes to share it with 
her next owner! Sandy believes she is a lapdog and loves cleaning faces with her tongue. She also 
loves to take herself for walks, as she confidently takes her own leash in her mouth and pulls herself 
along. Though she hasn’t had much in the way of training yet, she will make a perfect candidate as a 
walking, hiking, exercise, and activity partner. Sandy will make the perfect indoor companion for an 
active family living in a private home. To watch a video of Sandy please visit this link: http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=1YaiSko2_mc&feature=plcp

 To meet Sandy in person, please see her at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 N. Elton St., 
Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-962-3577). She is currently available now. 
For any inquiries about Sandy, please reference her animal ID number: A4500873. The shelter is 
open seven days a week, 12 pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-5pm Friday-Sunday. This is 
a high-intake shelter with a great need for adoptions. For more information about Sandy or the 
adoption process, contact United Hope for Animals Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha 
at samanthasayon@gmail.com or 661-309-2674. To learn more about United Hope for Animals’ 
partnership with the Baldwin Park Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, as well as the many 
dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes available for adoption in local shelters, visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/about-us/shelter-support-program/.