A huge 25 stone male gorilla has struck up an unlikely friendship with a tiny bush baby that is barely the size of his little finger.

Adorable pictures show Bobo, the 24-year-old rescue gorilla, cupping his hands to cradle his new friend and staring at him curiously.

The ‘fair and gentle’ Western lowland gorilla even let the bush baby crawl around his body.

Bobo, a 25 stone male gorilla, has struck up an unlikely friendship with a tiny bush baby that is barely the size of his little finger (Picture: Ape Action Africa/Alex Benitez/Solent News)

The pair were discovered together when the gorilla caregiver made his morning checks.

These photos were captured by site coordinator Alex Benitez at Mefou Primate Sanctuary in Cameroon, which is run by the animal conservation charity Ape Action Africa.

Bush babies are usually nocturnal, and it is rare to see one during the day.

A spokeswoman for Ape Action Africa said the unlikely pals played together for two hours before Bobo put the bush baby back into a tree.

She said: ‘The bush baby had probably been living inside the gorilla’s enclosure, which is covered in trees, or just outside the fence line, as the area surrounding it is forest.

The pair were discovered together when the gorilla caregiver made his morning checks (Picture: Ape Action Africa/Alex Benitez/Solent News)

The unlikely pals played together for two hours before Bobo put the bush baby back into a tree (Picture: Ape Action Africa/Alex Benitez/Solent News)

‘The bush baby showed no fear of Bobo – moving around his body and spending time hopping around in an open grassy area, before choosing to return to Bobo.

‘Bobo’s group-mates were curious about the bush baby and hoped that he might share it with them, but Bobo kept the bush baby to himself.’

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‘We have never witnessed a wild primate interacting with a rescued one at Mefou Sanctuary,’ she added.

Ape Action Africa is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation, rescue and rehabilitation of endangered gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys, threatened by the illegal bush meat trade in central and west Africa.

It has more than 300 primates in its care and is now one of the largest conservation projects of its kind in Africa.