Firm friends: Rishi places a hairy arm around Emily Bland. The pair spent a blissful afternoon climbing, swinging from rings and sometimes pausing for a hug in scenes reminiscent of the 'I Wanna Be Like You' sequence in the Disney film of The Jungle BookThe last time Emily Bland met Rishi the orang-utan, they were both still at the crawling stage.
So when the pair were reunited two years later, there was a whole new world of play to explore.
The three-year-olds spent a blissful afternoon climbing, swinging from rings and tyres, pedalling around on a plastic tricycle and sometimes pausing for a hug in scenes reminiscent of the 'I Wanna Be Like You' sequence in the Disney film of The Jungle Book.
Rishi lives with his adopted family of four older orang-utans at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) in Miami, Florida. His first day of play with Emily came in 2008 when her father Barry, a photographer, had an assignment at the institute and took her along.
'Rishi loved Emily pouring water over his head in the paddling pool,' said her mother Sophie. 'Their play together was so alike it was amazing.
'When we told Emily we were going to visit Rishi again she was very excited. She has often talked about Rishi and if you ask her to name her friends, he's always included.'
All the animals at the institute are allowed to roam free.
Director Dr Bhagavan Antle said: 'Even though Rishi loves his orang-utan family, he is the youngest and likes to play.
'It was a wonderful day for both of them. It was fun for him to play with her but also just hugging her and enjoying a relaxing day.'
Riding pillion: Rishi jumps on the back of the plastic trike. Rishi lives with his adopted family of four older orang-utans at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (TIGERS) in Miami, Florida
Just hanging around: Rishi and Emily have a swinging time at the orang-utan's Florida home
Rishi looks on bemused as Emily upends her watering can in a paddling poolsource: dailymail
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