Entrar

Factfile Factfile

Before you read Before you read

About the author:

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a British author and poet. He was born in Bombay, India, in 1865, but was educated in England. In 1882, Kipling returned to India, where he worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers. He wrote many short stories and poems, which became popular in England in the 1880s. Kipling returned to England in 1889 and lived there for the next three years. The Jungle Book (1894) became a children’s classic all over the world, and the book was made into a film in 1942. Walt Disney’s cartoon version was produced in the 1960s. Other well-known works by Kipling include The Second Jungle Book (1895), Captains Courageous (1897), Kim (1901) and Puck of Pook’s Hill (1906). Kipling received many awards and was the first English writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907. He died in London in 1936, and was buried in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Background:

  • Wolf packs:  Wolf packs: Wolves live and hunt in packs of between six and ten animals. A wolf pack has got a strict hierarchy based on strength and the ability to win fights. A younger wolf often challenges the leader to a fight when he or she is no longer fit to lead the pack. Loyalty and devotion are extremely important in the pack. A wolf’s body language and facial expressions help the animal communicate with the other members.

  • Snakes and hypnosis: Snakes haven’t got eyelids and can’t blink. They fix their eyes on their prey and small victims are often paralysed with fear, giving the false impression of being hypnotised. However, there’s no scientific evidence to prove that snakes hypnotise their prey.

  • Monkeys and their predators: In the jungle, snakes like the anaconda and python are one of the monkeys’ most feared predators. Many other animals also hunt them, including birds of prey, small cats and large cats. Monkeys use alarm calls with different sounds to warn others of danger, depending on which animal is hunting them.

  • Black panthers: These animals have got their own distinct behaviour and differ from other big cats. They are elusive and people don’t often see them in the wild. Black panthers live and hunt alone in an area called the home range, meeting only to mate. They guard their home ranges by communicating to one another with signs and vocalisations. They are excellent climbers and use this skill to protect themselves from lions and hyenas.

Movies: Mowgli vs. The Jungle Book Movies: Mowgli vs. The Jungle Book