Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, the Spaniard who spent 12 years of his childhood living among wolves in the Sierra Morena mountains, has died at the age of 80 in the village of Rante, in northwestern Spain.
Rodríguez Pantoja was born in 1946 in the southern village of Añora. Abused by his stepmother, he was sold by his father to an elderly goatherd at age seven. After the goatherd died, he was left alone in the mountains, where he lived with wolves and other animals for 12 years, reportedly gaining the trust of a wolf pack. The Guardia Civil found him in 1965 and forced his reintegration into society at age 19.
His story inspired the 2010 film "Among Wolves". He settled in Rante in 2001 and lived there until his death on 15 August. He had been ill for about two years, according to Europa Press. The municipality of Rante said he arrived with a story the world already knew.