Kipling hero who led a wild life as a youngster (6)
I believe the answer is:
mowgli
If this is the answer I cannot explain how the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mowgli that I've seen before include "Jungle Book boy (Kipling)" , "Kipling character" , "Jungle Book 'man-cub'" , "The Jungle Book hero" , "boy reared by wolves" .)