Real Species of Kipling's Jungle Book

Collarwali Tigress of Pench

The Jungle Book, a familiar and beloved story by Rudyard Kipling was mine and many others first introduction to the wonders of the jungle. From the first time following Mowgli’s adventures through the jungles of India I spent much of my childhood imagining the many animals in the jungle- were there actually bears eating pawpaw fruits and ants somewhere in India? It has led me, and perhaps you as well, to wonder what were the real species of the animals that Kipling wrote of in his stories that actually existed in India’s great Seeonee Jungle?

An adult male Asian Paradise-flycatcher in a dry forest near Amaya Lake, Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Kipling was an English writer from British India and his stories of the Jungle Book were all but one (the white seal) inspired by his travels in India around what is known as the Seeonee or Seoni Jungle in Madhya Pradesh. Baloo, depicted and acknowledged as a bear is speculated to have been a sloth bear, which do commonly live in this area, eating insects and occasionally honey. 

The black panther Bagheera, who guides Mowgli is not a pure black panther as he is now mostly recognized through Disney animated adaptations. In the original Jungle Book(s), Kipling describes Bagheera as “inky black all over, but with the panther markings showing up in certain lights like the pattern of watered silk.” Bagheera is an Indian Leopard with fur so dark his leopard spots are hardly visible. 

Another piece of Kipling's writing that was sadly left out of the modern adaptations was his story, Rikki Tikki Tavi- the story of a little mongoose that bravely defended the house of humans he lived under from a pair of deadly cobras. Both the Indian grey mongoose and the Spectacled and Monocled cobras are two very common pests in India that are found around human encampments. The snake Kaa, is not a cobra but actually the native Indian Rock Python, deduced from his large size, unhinging jaws, and distinctive pattern. The rock python is not venomous and mistakenly killed in India as a threat, making it an endangered species. Ironically, the animated adaptations of Kipling’s work also depict Kaa as a villain, when in the books he is depicted as more of a wise mentor to Mowgli, teaching him many of the laws of the jungle.

The wolves in the pack that raised Mowgli are a common species of wolf, circumpolar, they are found around the world. Akela and Raksha happen to be wolves native to India; the Indian wolf is slightly smaller than the grey wolf. The monkey tribe known as the Bandar‑log in The Jungle Book has no single species behind it, but Kipling drew inspiration from the Hanuman langur and the rhesus macaque, two of India’s most common monkeys. Hanuman langurs are often found in temples and forests, and the rhesus macaques are known for their boldness around human settlements. Unlike the lawless monkeys of the story, real langurs and macaques have their own strict social hierarchies.

Shere Khan, the tiger who is Mowgli’s primary foe, is based on the Bengal tiger. It’s India’s national animal, and once roamed across the forests of central India, including the region Kipling used as the setting for his stories. Kipling’s characters were not random, we can see their reflections in the wildlife he encountered in India. Understanding the real animals behind the Jungle Book I believe deepens our appreciation for it and also highlights the importance of protecting the diverse wildlife that inspired it.

A Spotted Deer with a Crow Perched on its Horns in the Wild