Jungle Book Characters

The Jungle Book was written by Rudyard Kipling in 1894 and is a collection of stories which were inspired by tales about the Indian jungles, tales he heard when he spent his childhood in India. This book was followed by a second book in 1895 and speaks about the adventures of a lost human child Mowgli, who is rescued and nurtured by wolves and other animals in an Indian jungle. In 1967 Walt Disney decided to produce an animated movie inspired by The Jungle Book which was the 19th animated feature film of the Disney Animation Studios. It was released on 18th of October, 1967 and grossed about $73 million dollars only in the United States. Let's walk down the memory lane and meet The Jungle Book characters.

The Jungle Book Character List

Mowgli: The main Jungle Book character is Mowgli who is an abandoned human baby or the 'man cub' who is rescued by the animals in the jungle and is named by Bagheera. The book describes his adventures with the jungle animals as he is growing up.

Bagheera: He is a black panther who finds the orphaned baby Mowgli and brings him to Raksha. But he is adamant to leave him back into the village amongst humans as he thinks Mowgli doesn't belong to the jungle.

Raksha: She is the mother wolf who takes care of Mowgli and raises him up along with her cubs.

Akela: He is an Indian wolf in the Council of wolves and wants Mowgli to go back to the human village.

Baloo: Baloo is a carefree bear who loves Mowgli and teaches him the ways of the jungle. He teaches him to use the boomerang and to steal honey from hives. You might remember the song "Bare Necessities", Baloo loves to spoil Mowgli and doesn't want Mowgli to go back to the village.

King Louie: He is the orangutan who wants to know how to make fire and calls it "Man's Red Flower". Mowgli gets him bananas in exchange to let him stay in the jungle.

Shere Khan: He is the tiger who wants to kill Mowgli and so Bagheera and the Wolves want to send him back into the village. Mowgli's fights with Shere Khan are some of the unforgettable scenes in the movie.

Kaa: Kaa is the python who wants to eat Mowgli before Shere Khan and so is always on the lookout for Mowgli. He even hypnotizes him and tries to coil around and kill him but is saved by Bagheera.

Colonel Hathi, Winifred and Junior: These are the friendly elephant family characters who help Mowgli whenever he needs them and Junior, the Colonel's clumsy son is a good friend of Mowgli.

Buzzie, Flaps, Dizzie and Ziggy: These four characters are the singing vultures who resemble 'The Beetles' and always sing to the passerby.

Radha: She is the human girl, Mowgli sees at the river and follows her to the human village. He wants to know if there are more like him and eventually finds them, leaving Baloo and Bagheera watch him go.

There are two Jungle Book characters that are in the book but not included in the film. They are Chil, the kite who plays an important part in the book and Tabaqui, the cowardly jackal who is actually the sidekick of Shere Khan. So those, in short are the jungle book character names which are truly unique and memorable. Rudyard Kipling's book differs with the film, with regards to the Jungle Book characters and their roles. Whether you are reading The Jungle Book or watching the movie, at all times it's a mesmerizing experience. Thanks to Kipling and Walt Disney.