A man who has been dubbed the ‘real-life Mowgli’ has been snapped looking dapper in the white shirt and black suit he now wears to attend school. 

Zanziman Ellie earned comparisons to the Jungle Book character through the days he spent hiking in the Rwandan jungle, where he lived with his mother.

Ellie has microcephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head is born much smaller than expected, and his life in the jungle helped him escape the bullies who targeted him for his looks, and the community who turned their backs on him.

Learn more about Ellie’s story below:

Last year, a documentary about the 22-year-old was released on Afrimax TV and a GoFundMe page was set up to help Ellie and his mother build a better life. Donations flooded in from across the globe with the money being used to fund Ellie’s education, which he had previously been denied due to his mental capacity.

The student is now enrolled at a school for children with special needs at the Ubumwe Community Center, Gisenyi, Rwanda, and he has a well-fitted suit which he is said to regularly wear to class.

Images show Ellie smiling proudly while wearing the suit, which features a waistcoat as well as a shirt and jacket.

She commented: ‘He was being ridiculed and I would often run after him. At the moment he is in school with his peers and I am so happy. My son is having a good life, well-wishers have built me a house… my sorrow has been taken away.’

Ellie is said to have become something of a local celebrity following the release of the documentary, with people stopping him on the street to take pictures.

There is no known cure for microcephaly, and it has been linked to issues such as seizures, developmental delay, intellectual disability, feeding problems, hearing loss and vision problems.