List of The Jungle Book characters

Mowgli attacking Shere Khan: detail from a clay bas-relief by John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, from "The Works of Rudyard Kipling" Vol. VII: The Jungle Book, 1907.

This is a list of characters that appear in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book story collection, its sequel The Second Jungle Book, and the various film adaptations based on those books. Characters include both human and talking animal characters.

In the Mowgli stories

Mowgli made leader of the Bandar Log by John Charles Dollman, 1903

• Mowgli (मोगली; feral child), also referred to as Naked Frog.
• Jungle characters
  • Akela (अकेला Akēlā, "alone"; Indian wolf), leader of the wolf pack.
  • Raksha (रक्षा Rakṣā, "protection"; Indian wolf), also called Mother Wolf, Mowgli's adoptive mother.
  • Father Wolf (Indian wolf), Raksha's mate and Mowgli's adoptive father. The 1967 film names him "Rama", meaning "pleasant, supreme".
  • Baloo (भालू Bhālū, "bear"; sloth bear), Mowgli's best friend. In Kipling's book, he is described as a sleepy old bear, who teaches Mowgli the law of the jungle.
  • Bagheera (बघीरा Baghīrā; black panther), Mowgli's mentor. Hindi bāgh (बाघ) means "tiger".
  • Bandar-log (बन्दर-लोग Bandar-lōg, "monkey-folks"; grey langurs), monkeys who are treated as pariahs for their scatterbrained anarchy. They kidnap the very young Mowgli, who is rescued by Bagheera, Baloo, and Kaa.
  • Ko (को Kō; Indian crow), only mentioned
  • Kaa (का Kā; Indian rock python), Mowgli's wise mentor and friend.
  • Hathi (हाथी Hāthī, "elephant"; Indian elephant), leader of the elephants and the individual called "The True Master of The Jungle".
  • Hathi's sons (Indian elephants)
  • Tabaqui (तंबाकूवी Taṃbakūvī; "Dish-Licking Dog"; golden jackal); he feeds on scraps from either Shere Khan or the wolves of the Seeonee Pack. In some adaptions, he is a hyena. He is the only friend of Shere Khan, as well as Shere Khan's companion, informer, right-hand individual, follower, partner, attendant, accomplice, sidekick, spy, messenger and ally. He is killed by Grey Brother after the Grey Brother interrogates him into admitting both what Shere Khan plans to do and where and then crushes the jackal's back in Tiger, Tiger.
  • Mang (मङग Maṅg, "go"; bat)
  • Pappu (पपु Papu, "protector"; cat)
  • Shere Khan (शेर खान Śhēēr Khān, "King Tiger"; Bengal tiger),^[1] a man-eating Royal Bengal Tiger who is often known in both the short stories by Kipling to the point of even being described by the author himself as through his saying that part of the name showing that he "was a chief among tigers" and in multiple adaptations as the one called "The King of Tigers", one of the two main villains alongside the human hunter Buldeo and one of Mowgli's arch-enemies alongside Buldeo as well. Despite being born with a withered leg and derisively nicknamed "Lungri" ("The Lame One") by his own mother, Shere Khan is aggressive, arrogant, self-centered, selfish and he sees himself as the rightful lord of the jungle, likely out of conceit drawn by excessive pride over his being "a chief among tigers". Tabaqui is his only friend, as well as his companion, informer, right-hand individual, follower, partner, attendant, accomplice, sidekick, spy, messenger and ally. When Shere Khan meets his end in Tiger, Tiger, Buldeo then further antagonizes Mowgli because of the elderly hunter's being beaten to having gotten to killing the tiger and getting his skin, which Mowgli has vowed to show to The Seonee Wolf Pack Council Rock whereas the greedy Buldeo seeks to get in order to claim a substantial reward placed out as a bounty on the tiger's body for the tiger's hide.
  • Rama (रमा Ramā; water buffalo)
  • Mysa (मौसा Maisā, "uncle"; water buffalo)
  • Chil (चील Cīl, "kite"; brahminy kite), in earlier editions called Rann (रण Raṇ, "battle")
  • Ikki (इकी Ikī; Indian porcupine), in earlier editions called Sahi (साही Sāhī, "porcupine")
  • Tha (था Thā, "He was"; Indian elephant), the first of the elephants according to Hathi
  • Thuu (थू Thū; Indian cobra), also called White Hood, a blind albino cobra. Mowgli gives him the derisory epithet "Thuu" (allegedly meaning "it has dried" referring to the poison in Thuu's fangs) upon discovering that the supposedly deadly cobra's fangs are in fact withered and dried up from age and disuse. Protector of ancient treasures
  • Grey Brother (Indian wolf); the oldest of Father Wolf and Raksha's cubs
  • Phaona (फवाना Phavānā; Indian wolf), Phao's father
  • The Dholes
  • Oo (ऊ Ū; turtle)
  • Jacala (जाचला Jacalā, "obstacle"; Indian crocodile). In Red Dog it is stated that Mowgli broke a knife on Jacala's back during a protracted fight with him.
  • Mao (मवा Mavā; Indian peacock), in earlier editions called Mor (मोर Mōr, "peacock")
  • Won-Tolla (Indian wolf), an outlier who warns Mowgli's tribe of the dholes
  • Chikai (चीकै Cīkai, "squeak"; rat)
  • Phao (फवा Phavā; Indian wolf), son of Phaona, leader of The Free People
  • Ferao (फोडवा Phōṛavā, "woodpecker"; scarlet woodpecker)
• Human characters
  • Messua, wife of the richest man of the human village, who decides to adopt the wild Mowgli, believing (probably mistakenly) that he is their long-lost son Nathoo.
  • Messua's husband, the richest man of the village; his name is not given.
  • Nathoo (नत्थू Natthū), the long-lost son of Messua and her husband, who has been snatched by a tiger (arguably, Shere Khan).
  • Buldeo (बलदेव Baladēvā, "powerful lord"), the elderly (or at least middle-aged) chief hunter of Messua's village, one of the two main villains alongside Shere Khan, and is an arch-enemy of Mowgli among humans as Shere Khan is an arch-enemy of Mowgli among the creatures of the jungle. Buldeo is boastful, arrogant, greedy and superstitious and he is furious when Mowgli, who knows what the jungle is really like, contradicts some of Buldeo's more fanciful stories about the jungle. He hopes to get the limping man-eating Royal Bengal Tiger Shere Khan The Tiger, so he can get a substantial reward placed out as a bounty on the tiger's life for the tiger's skin.
  • Kamya (काम्या Kāmyā), one of the village boys who herd buffalo along with Mowgli. In contrast to Messua's husband, he has a name but no description.

Other stories

• Rikki Tikki Tavi
  • Rikki Tikki Tavi (mongoose)
  • Nag and Nagaina (cobras) "Nag" is the Hindi word for "cobra."
  • Darzee (tailorbird) "darzee" means tailor in Hindi
  • Chuchundra (Asian house shrew) Called a muskrat in the story.
  • Karait (common krait)
  • The Coppersmith (coppersmith barbet)
• The White seal
  • Kotick (albino seal)
  • Sea Catch (northern fur seal); his name is likely of Russian or Aleut origin, because a poem by Kipling has "see-catchie" with a Russian-type plural ending to mean "adult male seals".
  • Matkah (northern fur seal)
  • Sea Vitch (walrus)
  • Sea Cow (Steller's sea cow)
• Toomai of the Elephants
  • Toomai
  • Kala Nag (elephant)

Disney adaptation

• Hathi Jr. the baby elephant
• Winifred Hathi - Colonel Hathi's wife
• King Louie the orangutan
• Flunkey the Monkey - King Louie's servant
• Shanti (Named Shanti only in the 2nd movie) - The girl whose song "My Own Home" lured him into the Man Village now serves as his ally in the sequel.
• Buzzy, Dizzy, Flaps, and Ziggy the Vultures - Four vultures who closely resemble the Beatles because of their shaggy moptop haircuts and Liverpool accents. Buzzy resembles Ringo Starr, Dizzy resembles George Harrison, Flaps resembles Paul McCartney, and Ziggy resembles John Lennon. Their song "That's What Friends Are For" was sung in the style of a barbershop quartet instead of a Beatles song. Disney was originally going to get the band to voice them, but John Lennon refused.
• Rocky the Rhino (deleted character) - Rocky was originally going to be a friend of the Vultures' and would fight Mowgli, but Walt Disney cut him out.
• Ranjan (The Jungle Book 2)- Mowgli's adoptive human brother.
• Lucky the Vulture (The Jungle Book 2) - The Vultures' friend who loves to annoy Shere Khan.

References