Photos | Modern-day Mowgli: Toddler forges bond with monkeys

Two year-old Samarth became a subject of local intrigue after befriending a gang of langurs, who come to visit and play with him every day at around the same time at his home in Allapur, Karnataka. ...read more

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Samarth Bangari, 2, sits among langurs in a field near his home in Allapur in Karnataka. While he is still too young to talk, Samarth has become a subject of local intrigue after befriending a gang of monkeys –reminiscent of the famous character ‘Mowgli’ portrayed by Rudyward Kipling in ‘ The Jungle Book,’ about a boy who grew up in the wild in India. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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Mallikarjuna Reddy carries his nephew Samarth outside his home so that he can play with the monkeys in Allapur. Reddy said it was “strange” for the monkeys to behave like that, and villagers feared the boy would be attacked while his parents worked in a nearby field. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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Villagers watch Samarth feed langurs in a field near his home in Allapur. “Everyone thinks that he is special and they are communicating with each other, and can understand what is being said,” Reddy said. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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His unusual friendship with these terrestrial primates was first spotted when he was found playing with nearly two dozen gray langurs alone. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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The relationship piqued local interest, and soon people began visiting Samarth’s house to catch a glimpse of young toddler tottering around the farm with several langurs in tow. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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“Even if he is sleeping, they first wake him up, and then sit with him for an hour or two,” Reddy said. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)

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According to his uncle, Samarth is now a local legend due to his “special bond” with the monkeys, whose sounds he mimics even though he cannot speak yet. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP)