Bomba, the Jungle Boy

From the primitive hut that serves as his home in the the African jungle, game warden Andy Barnes, a Scot, and his guide, Eli, listen to the sound of distant drums announcing the imminent arrival of a small safari party. Photographer George Harland and his daughter Patricia are in Africa to film wildlife and before they reach Andy, photograph a herd of giraffe. At Andy's hut, they show him the footage they have just shot and Andy remarks that the film would be excellent for educational purposes. The trio leaves the next day on a six-day safari to the mystical Big Rift area. Half-way there, George becomes impatient at the lack of photographable animals, but soon he and Pat are able to film a few species. Later, Pat and a native guide hike some distance away from their base camp and are watched by a feral child, Bomba. After the guide is attacked by a leopard, Bomba appears from hiding and kills it with a spear. Bomba tries to approach Pat but she becomes frightened and runs away. When Eli finds the guide's body, he, George and Andy search for Pat until nightfall. Pat realizes that she is lost and follows Bomba, begging for directions to the base camp. Bomba, who speaks fractured English, tells Pat to climb into the branches of a tree, where he has fashioned a bed for her. Bomba tells Pat that all he knows about his family is that he grew up with an old white man, Cody Cason. Later that night, when Bomba approaches the base camp, he is shot at by George and, wounded in the shoulder, runs off. The next morning, after Pat dresses his wound, she asks Bomba to take her to a native village to get a guide and supplies for her trip back. They are followed by Andy, George and Eli as they head to the Big Rift which Bomba calls home. Bomba shows her a cave in which he sleeps and Pat asks him to build a structure for her. When she tears her skirt, Pat borrows a leopard skin from Bomba and begins to enjoy his way of life. After witnessing an attack by swarms of locusts, Andy, George and Eli are approached by a menacing pride of lions. When George prepares to shoot them, Eli fiercely objects and Andy reveals that according to the customs of Eli's tribe, lions can only be killed by a warrior during a special ceremony. If an outsider kills a lion, he explains, the tribe will declare war on that person. Soon, warriors from Eli's tribe arrive and begin to perform the ceremony. However, when a lion attacks Eli, Andy grabs his gun and saves Eli's life by shooting the lion, whereupon the warriors chase after Andy and Eli. Bomba, however, ignites the tall grass to prevent the warriors from following. Bomba then sends Pat to wait by a river, but en route she finds her father and the others. Bomba builds a raft to ferry them all across the river. When Eli meets Bomba, he recounts the native legend of a misanthropic naturalist named Cody Casson, who brought his two-year-old son to live with him in the jungle. Later, when Cason sickened and died, the boy was abandoned to the wilderness. After Bomba helps prepare the escape raft, he says goodbye to them all and, despite their invitation to take him back to civilization, returns to his home in the jungle.