The wild wolf man of Andalucía

Was Rodríguez really raised by the Iberian wolf?

It’s an incredible ‘tail’ of one man raised by wild animals; surviving in the wilderness and cut off completely from society; learning to howl and growl for attention and communication; forgetting how to speak and walking almost on all fours.

A real-life Mowgli from the Jungle Book? A raconteur? A fraud? Who knows, but the story of Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja – said to have spent his childhood among wolves and snakes in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalucía – is certainly intriguing, not least because whether it happened or not, it really could have happened…

Geographically, the 450 km mountain range of Sierra Morena stretches east to west just north of Seville. Hop in the car from the swanky bars of Puerto Banús and you can be there in about two hours. That an area of such wilderness – stark, rocky mountains, sweeping valleys bereft of civilisation and garnished with dense woodland harbouring all manner of critters beneath – is so close to one of the world’s most visited tourist regions is nothing short of astonishing.

But then, that’s Andalucía. A wild land of contrasts, where for every thumping nightclub, five-star hotel and mile-long traffic jam are areas of complete solitude: of tiny pueblos where the tinkling of the local well echoes around the plaza;  of crystal lakes edged by exotic foliage that rustles to the sound of elusive lynx and wild boar; and of nature reserves that are home to African flamingos and no through roads.

And, of course, a land of wolves. The BBC article on Marcos Rodríguez is a follow up to a 2010 documentary telling his captivating story. The documentary is due for commercial release, and is creating quite a stir in the UK and Spain. Rodríguez’s claims (that he lived in a cave with a wolf pack that fed him, and that he befriended a snake that protected him) have been widely and wildly questioned, yet the man’s physical and psychological state after returning to society has not: he would look curiously at beds, plunge his hands into boiling hot soup, and look on aghast at a modern world that was too fast-paced for his liking (yes, even in laid-back Andalucía).

But head to the wild mountain range of Sierra Morena and it all starts to make sense. Aside from the beauty of the terrain, the first thing that strikes you is just how isolated the valleys and peaks feel. Wolves live in and around the range, that much is certain. How many and where, nobody really knows, such is the vastness of the landscape.

There are marked trails and tracks snaking throughout the range, and it would take a hardy soul indeed to stray too far from them, especially in the searing heat of summer or the snow-dusted days of deep winter.

Where else in Europe can such a juxtaposition in terrain and atmosphere be enjoyed? Stray from the path in a British national park, for example, and the most dangerous encounter you’re likely to face is an irate farmer bellowing ‘get orf my land!’. Or, perhaps, you’ll stumble upon a motorway service station, where eating well is probably more of a challenge than back in the undergrowth. France, Germany, Italy and parts of Eastern Europe do indeed have their own vestiges of wilderness remaining, but very few areas can boast such a stark dichotomy between modern and rural as Andalucía.

It is knowing that such opportunities for exploration, solitude and introspection exist that make Southern Spain such a magical place. Throw in superb modernity that offers everything a property investor, holiday home hunter, sun worshipper, shopaholic or party animal could ever want, and you have the recipe for an all-encompassing resort that offers something for everybody.

Just don’t expect to see Rodríguez propping up a bar near you any time soon.