Donald Michael Thornberry

Donald Michael "Donnie" Thornberry is a feral boy who (as revealed in the 2001 4-part TV movie, The Origin of Donnie) was raised by orangutans after his real parents, a pair of naturalists, were killed by poachers. Before the Thornberrys adopted him, the special also reveals that Nigel and Marianne knew his parents. He commonly wears a pair of leopard-spotted shorts and he loves to eat all types of bugs. He babbles wildly and makes animal-sounds (but nothing Eliza can understand), occasionally spouting blurbs of English or showing random signs of sophisticated education. Donnie is four years old for most of the series, but turns five in The Origin of Donnie. It was shown that while his parents were teaching orangutans sign language, he learned as well. Though only one sign was shown (family), it is unknown how much he actually knows.

Description
Donnie Thornberry was discovered in the Congo by Nigel and Marianne as they did a show about orangutans. His parents killed by poachers, Donnie was raised by the gentle primates since he was a toddler. When the Thornberrys came along, his orangutan mother decided that they would be a good family for the boy. Donnie has a lot of energy and is hard to control. He is often put into the care of Debbie, who finds her little brother to be quite a handful. Donnie will eat practically anything, including bugs and plants, and enjoys speaking in his unique form of gibberish and doing "The Wedgie Dance".

Looks
Donnie is mostly peach. He has red-brown hair and a pink tongue. Donnie wears a pair of leopard-spotted shorts and no shirt.

Appearances
Donnie appears in every episode of The Wild Thornberrys. His first appearance was in the pilot episode, Flood Warning. His last was in Eliza Unplugged.