A two-year-old child from a remote village in India stunned locals when he spent days on end hanging out with monkeys.
In 2018, adorable photos of toddler Samarth Bangari surfaced showing the ‘real-life Mowgli’ playing with a group of over 20 Vervet monkeys in the village of Allapur, 250 miles from Bangalore.
The charming little bloke would share his meals and play with the monkeys that visited him in his courtyard, attempting to snatch tasty treats from his hands and pockets whenever they could. Some of the more audacious and timely primates even ventured into his bedroom to rouse him every morning at 6am on the dot.
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In the afternoons, when Samarth returned from play school and discovered the furry assembly patiently waiting outside his house, the little lad dashed to the kitchen to stuff his trouser and shirt pockets with food to distribute among his long-tailed companions.
Their bond was strong that his parents were content to leave their young son under the supervision of the monkeys for hours on end.
Samarth's unique friendship granted him a special status in the village where locals regarded him as a 'blessed' child.
His parents Sunil, 44, and Nanda Bangari, 41, revealed at the time that villagers believed Samarth was the reincarnation of Lord Hanuman - the monkey God of Hindus.
Nanda, a housewife, said: "He plays with them, feeds them home cooked food. The monkeys love him and even when he pulls their tails, the animals do not harm him.
"People in our village are astounded by Samarth's extraordinary bond with the monkeys and some even refer to him as the reincarnation of Lord Hanuman due to the immense affection the monkeys show him.
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"They take care of him and never cause him harm. I trust the animals and allow my son to play with them alone while I attend to household duties."
Samarth's parents explain that his friendship with the animals began when he was merely six months old and a monkey snatched food from his hand.
Sunil, a daily wage farmer, shared: "Our village Allapur has a large population of monkeys and they are normally friendly because we offer them food and allow them to roam around our houses.
"They all gathered in large numbers seeing him eating and one came close to him suddenly and snatched his food. Surprisingly Samarth did not cry instead he started gesturing at the monkeys.
"From that day the monkeys started visiting our house everyday. We are used to their presence and Samarth's beautiful relation with them. It has become a custom for us all now.
"But this is amazing how my son has struck this special bond with the monkeys. It all started when he was only six months old. One day I was feeding him when he found some monkeys outside our house."
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