Karina Chikitova was just four years old when she got lost in the Siberian wilderness for 12 days – she miraculously survived and has now looked back at her ordeal in an interview 10 years on
A girl nicknamed ‘Mowgli’ has spoken out 10 years after surviving for two weeks in a bear-infested forest when she was just four years old.
Karina Chikitova wandered off into the Siberian wilderness in 2014, following her father who had no idea he was being trailed. After getting lost she was forced to eat berries, sleep on a bed of long grass, and cling to her dog Naida for warmth.
She was eventually found after her dog returned to their village, signifying to rescuers that she too was still alive. Karina spent a total of 12 nights in Russia’s infamously brutal wilderness. A statue of her and her dog was subsequently erected in regional capital Yakutsk – the world’s coldest city. There has also been a book and a major film about her ordeal.
Now aged 14, Karina has been interviewed primetime on Russian state TV. She revealed how she doesn’t remember anything about her time in the woods.
“This is my dog Naida,” she said, showing the host a picture. “She was with me in the forest, but I no longer remember how I played with her.” She explained how her earliest memory is from school when she was aged seven.
When asked what she wants to be when she is older, Karina said: “A doctor.” Her response was met with warm applause from the studio audience.
She went on to reveal how she isn’t a fan of her fame. The presenter asked at one point: “Look at you, 14 years old, you’re already a legend. You’re a star. There is a monument to you […] Is that how you feel?” To which Karina responded: “No, I don’t like the attention.”
Karina spent nine nights in the forest before Naida wandered off to fetch help. Recalling the moment he spotted her, rescuer Artyom Borisov said: “She was sitting deep in deep grass, completely silent.
“I didn’t actually notice her. She saw me and stretched her arms forward. I picked her up, she was so tiny, so light, like fluff. She didn’t have shoes on. Her face, legs and arms were bitten to blood (by mosquitos).”
Karina would later credit the dog for saving her. She said: “It was Naida who rescued me. I was really, really scared. But when we were going to sleep I hugged her, and together we were warm.”