Woman who grew up with monkeys shares her life experience, 'They talk to each other in a language…'

Time of India

4 days ago

In a world filled with unimaginable childhood stories, Marina Chapman's account of survival stands apart for one reason– it's real. No fiction, no folklore. Just a girl, left alone in the Colombian rainforest at the age of four, who survived by observing and imitating a group of wild monkeys.
Her story, now widely discussed after resurfacing in recent interviews, is not framed by drama or exaggeration. It's a stark and honest recollection of what it meant to grow up completely disconnected from human society– and how instinct, silence, and the company of animals helped her endure.
Now in her later years, Marina is speaking more openly about her past, not to shock or entertain, but to share what survival looked like when her only teachers were capuchin monkeys.
A childhood cut short by abduction
Marina's early life in Colombia took a traumatic turn when she was abducted from her village around the age of four, according to a report by UNILAD. The reasons behind the kidnapping remain unclear, but she was eventually abandoned in dense forest territory– alone, frightened, and unsure of what to do next.
With no one to call for help and no knowledge of the jungle, she found herself surrounded by a troop of monkeys. Slowly, they became her silent guides.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Undo
Observing monkeys became her survival strategy
In an interview with UNILAD, Marina explained that as the days passed in isolation, she realised that the only way to survive was by following the creatures around her. With no knowledge of edible plants or safe water sources, she began closely observing the monkeys' behaviour.
"I didn't know what to eat except the water. And I noticed the monkeys used to eat things. They kept eating something, and I kept watching where they were getting this food, and it took me days to find out where they were getting the food," she told UNILAD.
One monkey, she recalls, played an unexpected role in helping her find food by quietly stealing fruit from sleeping humans nearby.
"Except one of them was a very good one. He used to go when some Indian people had fallen asleep, and they used to hear the sound of people falling asleep. And he went into their room, very quiet, and he got a lot of food out of these rooms with huge amounts of fruit. And it used to carry so much that he dropped it.
And that was the first time I came out and found a banana or other things."
This small moment would teach her how to find scattered food– and how to grab it fast.
"And I pick it up quickly, but you better move quickly because if you don't, they take it away quickly. So I learned to eat as fast as I could, always."
Adapting to the sounds of the forest
Jungle life meant staying alert at all times. With no human interaction, Marina learned to understand the meaning behind different monkey sounds– many of which signalled food, threats, or movement.
"I had to learn to recognise the sounds. The screechy one, you have to really be careful, you have to hide away. Many sounds mean something. The 'danger' one is the louder one, and then the whistle one is the 'food' one. And each sound means different things, but it took me a while to get used to it. I just learned from watching what they were doing every time I heard the sound."
For Marina, these sounds became the difference between staying safe and getting hurt.
There was no safety net, only observation and reaction.
Found by hunters, but not freed
According to the UNILAD report, at around age ten, after nearly six years in the forest, Marina was discovered by hunters. But rescue didn't mean relief. Instead, she was taken away and reportedly sold into a brothel. Her years of jungle survival were followed by fresh trauma in urban society.
Eventually, she managed to escape and survive on the streets of Columbia for a period. Her journey from there continued through more difficulties, eventually leading to a new life.
Her full story was first detailed in her book The Girl With No Name, published in 2013.
Thumb image: Generated by Canva AI (only for representative purposes)