Disaster at sea causes their ship to sink off the coast of Africa, a British couple finds their way to shore with their infant son in tow. However, the parents are killed by a leopard, leaving the baby to fend for himself. The child is discovered by a gorilla named Kala the leader of the tribe of apes. While he is taken aback by the foundling and would just as soon leave him in the jungle, Kala’s maternal nature is stirred. Kala takes the baby with them, naming him Tarzan and raising him among their own. Although Tarzan grows up painfully aware that he’s different from the apes, he comes to love and respect the gorillas and learns their ways, while they accept him into their tribe as he grows to adulthood. However, Tarzan’s idyllic life in the jungle is changed forever by the arrival of Professor Porter his daughter Jane and their guide, a hunter. The Professor and Jane have arrived in Africa to study the wildlife in its natural habitat, although Clayton would prefer to bag as many trophies as he can. When the explorers encounter Tarzan, they at first think they’ve discovered the missing link, although soon realize that he’s as human as they are. Tarzan finds himself torn between his desire to be with his own kind and his loyalties to the gorilla family that raised him.