FRENCH WILDMAN

In my book The Fairy Realm I took a look at the question of wild hominids in Europe and was rather surprised to discover so many legends of them.  An additional report, which I had not heard of at the time, came from 19th Century France.  A man was carried off by a "forest man" (homme des bois) near Briançon.  The wildman took him to his cave where his family dwelt, but the abductee in due course escaped. (Source: J. Cutchin A Trojan Feast, San Antonio, 2015: p. 55).

Wildmen exist in traditions or in modern reports in Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Russia, Croatia, Sweden, Norway, Poland and Germany.  There are probably reports from elsewhere as well.  In 1661, for example, a creature described as a "bearman" was captured in Lithuania.