'Tarzan' who lived in jungle for years had 'no idea' women exist

A man dubbed as ‘real Tarzan’ who lived in complete isolation in the forests along with his father and brother for 41 years had no idea that women exist.

Ho Van Lang, who lived in the Vietnam jungle, fled civilization at the end of the Vietnam War in 1972 when a US bomb killed his mother and two siblings and settled deep in the jungle in the Tay Tra district of Quang Ngai province.

In the four decades, they only saw five other people – and ran away from them each time.

The trio lived entirely off the wilderness, eating honey, fruit and forest creatures, building shelters, and fending for themselves.

In 2015, Alvaro Cerezo, a photographer tracked the family and rescued them, taking them to a local village.

Cerezo said, “They always escaped when they saw people from a distance. More surprising still is that today, despite being able to distinguish between men and women, he still doesn’t know the essential difference between them.”

Lang’s brother Tri described him as a “baby in a man’s body”, with very little understanding of “many basic social concepts”.

Tri said, “Lang has spent his whole life in the jungle. So his brain is just like a baby. If I asked Lang to beat someone, he would do it severely. He doesn’t know the difference between good and bad. Lang is just a child.”

He continued, “He doesn’t know anything. Most people know what is good or bad in life, but my brother doesn’t. If I asked Lang to stab someone with a knife, he would do it without thinking and that person could die.”

However, despite fears that Lang -who is dubbed as real-life Tarzan – could kill anyone at request, Cerezo said that he was “happily adapting to his new life.”