Feral describes an animal that was once domesticated but has returned to living wild. When house cats escape and start living on their own in alleys or forests, hunting for food and avoiding humans, they become feral cats. These animals still belong to a domesticated species (like cats, dogs, or pigs), but they've adopted wild behaviors and no longer depend on people.

Feral animals are different from wild animals that were never tamed. A wolf is wild, having never been domesticated. But a feral dog is one whose ancestors were pets or working animals, and it has now returned to survival mode without human care. Feral pigs, descended from farm pigs that escaped, roam parts of the southern United States and can be quite dangerous.

People sometimes use feral playfully to describe someone acting wild or uncivilized, like a kid who comes inside covered in mud after playing outside all day. “You look absolutely feral!” a parent might laugh. But the word's real meaning connects to that deeper change: going from tame and domestic to wild and independent.