History Main / RaisedInCaptivity

* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar1'' is about captive raised animals trying to make it back to their homeland. When they get there, things do not go well. For example, the lion is horrified to learn that he will need to eat the relatives of his friends to survive.

''Literature/TheDreamEatersAndOtherStories'' by Louise Searl features the short story ''Home'', about a captive-bred puma who accidentally escapes her zoo home. She was well cared for in the zoo and happy there, and finds life in the wild difficult, frightening and miserable.

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* More than a few episodes of Creator/AnimalPlanet's ''Growing Up...'' series (which revolved around raising captive-bred animals through their first year) had the animals released into the wild.

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* Inverted with General Woundwort of ''Literature/WatershipDown'', who was taken in by a kindly human after his mother's death. Growing up apart from other rabbits, and getting hassled by the dog when his rescuer's back was turned, actually made him far tougher than any wild-reared rabbit could be expected to become, ready and able to fight off predators.
* In ''Literature/TheFoxAndTheHound'', Tod the fox's family is killed by hunters when he's just a kit. One of them takes pity on him and adopts him, and even runs more-or-less harmless experiments on him to compare his skills to a puppy he's being raised with. Tod eventually leaves the cushy domestic life and goes on to do just fine in the wild, [[spoiler:eventually becoming the last of the wild foxes as suburbia destroys the forest.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Bambi}}'', Faline's twin brother Gobo was presumed to have been killed as a fawn however it turns out he was taken in by hunters. They reared him until he was an adult and then released him back into his home forest. Gobo lacks any deer survival skills and is overly cocky as he believes he is friends with all humans. [[spoiler:He ends up killed when he approaches a hunter.]]
* Lusa from ''Literature/{{Seekers}}'' is a black bear cub born and raised in a zoo. She has always wanted to live in the forest but her parents (one of which was born in the wild) discourage her dreams. When she finally escapes she has a difficult time adjusting to life as a wild bear, especially since she's at an age where she should still be with her mother. She's presented as the NaiveNewcomer of the group (with the other three cubs being born in the wild).
* Aldagon from ''Literature/TheBloodOfADragon'' complains that she tried rescuing her dragon brethren from a farm where they are raised for magical ingredients, but "Few have lived long enough to learn speech, and none long enough to learn sense." Some starved to death, lacking hunting skills, some killed each other, some drew too much attention from humans...
* Defied in ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' when the fox tells the prince that people are forever responsible for the animals they have tamed
* ''Literature/{{Pax}}'': The fox was tamed as a kit and left in a forest several years later. He almost starves, but Runt catches food for him.
* In ''Literature/{{Eric}}'', Rincewind gets rid of the annoying parrot by giving it to a jungle explorer, saying it's cruel to keep it in the city. Despite [[PollyWantsAMicrophone the parrot itself]] insisting "I was ''born'' in a cage, you raving wossname!"
* ''Literature/HollowKingdom2019'': S.T. is a crow who's been raised by a man called Big Jim since he was a hatchling, to the point of considering himself an honorary human. This causes problems for him when he has to interact with wild crows in the wake of the ZombieApocalypse, as neither group really approves of the other's views on humanity.
* In ''Literature/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'', [[GentleGorilla Ivan]] was taken from his family at a very young age and shipped across the sea in a crate, where he was raised in a human home like a human child until he grew too large and strong, at which point he was shut into a tiny glass enclosure in a mall. For ''twenty seven years''. As with the real gorilla the book is loosely based on, attitudes on animal husbandry changed and he was eventually taken from the mall and to a zoo, because he absolutely couldn't have survived in the wild. Unlike the real Ivan who didn't know how to act around his own kind and preferred human company, this Ivan after a rough start does befriend and become close to the other gorillas.

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* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' Darwin leaves Eliza and escapes into the jungle, but ends up faring quite badly after his years living among humans.
** Another episode's plot revolves around this idea, where Eliza releases a gas station's hyena mascot from his cage, only for him struggling to adjust to life as a wild hyena.

* Spike from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is a dragon whelp raised amongst ponies. As a result, he has nothing in common with other dragons, is soft-mannered, and is InTouchWithHisFeminineSide. When he meets other dragons in the wild he just ends up bullied and looked down upon.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Krusty forced to release Mr. Teeny into the wild, cut to Mr. Teeny being surrounded by other wild chimpanzees glaring at him and confiscate his lighter when he tries to smoke a cigarette.