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Kipling's Indian Animals Trivia Quiz

I was reading Kipling's Jungle Book again on my e-reader, and was struck by the number of animals that he gave local names to. Here they are in the order they appear - can you identify the animal (X) from Kipling's English descriptions?

A matching quiz by davejacobs. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
davejacobs

Time
4 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
395,705

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
169

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions		Choices
1. "Now X the Kite brings home the night!"		Shere Khan
2. "That X the Bat sets free..."		Rann
3. "It was the jackal - X, the Dishlicker".		Baloo
4. "X, the Big One, has shifted his hunting grounds".		Tabaqui
5. "'His mother did not call him X, (the Lame One) for nothing' said Mother Wolf quietly".		Raksha
6. "And it is I, X (The Demon), who answers. The man's cub is mine, Lungri".		Mang
7. "Lie still, little frog, O thou X, - for X the Frog I will call thee".		Bagheera
8. "X, the great gray Lone Wolf, who led all the pack by strength and cunning".		Akela
9. "...the only other creature who is allowed at the Pack Council - X, the sleepy brown bear..."		Mowgli
10. "A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was X, the Black Panther..."		Lungri

Select each answer

1. "Now X the Kite brings home the night!"

2. "That X the Bat sets free..."

3. "It was the jackal - X, the Dishlicker".

4. "X, the Big One, has shifted his hunting grounds".

5. "'His mother did not call him X, (the Lame One) for nothing' said Mother Wolf quietly".

6. "And it is I, X (The Demon), who answers. The man's cub is mine, Lungri".

7. "Lie still, little frog, O thou X, - for X the Frog I will call thee".

8. "X, the great gray Lone Wolf, who led all the pack by strength and cunning".

9. "...the only other creature who is allowed at the Pack Council - X, the sleepy brown bear..."

10. "A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was X, the Black Panther..."

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Now X the Kite brings home the night!"

Answer: Rann

This is the first line of the poem that precedes the first chapter entitled "Mowgli's Brothers". In later editions Kipling changed the name of the kite to Chil.

2. "That X the Bat sets free..."

Answer: Mang

The second line of that introductory poem. One of the things that was taught to Mowgli by Baloo was what to say to Mang the bat if he disturbed him during the day.

3. "It was the jackal - X, the Dishlicker".

Answer: Tabaqui

"The wolves of India despise Tabaqui because he runs about making mischief, and telling tales." The jackal character appears in another story in the Jungle Book, where he is the sycophantic side-kick of a Mugger, or huge crocodile.

4. "X, the Big One, has shifted his hunting grounds".

Answer: Shere Khan

"...He will hunt among these hills for the next season for the next moon, so he has told me." These words from Tabaqui the jackal refer to the tiger Shere Khan, who is about to attack the camp of the woodcutter's family. Shere Khan stupidly jumps at the fire and gets his feet burned. This allowed Mowgli, just able to walk, to stumble into the wolves' cave.

5. "'His mother did not call him X, (the Lame One) for nothing' said Mother Wolf quietly".

Answer: Lungri

Mother Wolf's response to the jackal's news. The tiger had been lame from birth, which is why he only killed cattle belonging to villagers.

6. "And it is I, X (The Demon), who answers. The man's cub is mine, Lungri".

Answer: Raksha

This is Mother Wolf, who has just allowed the man-cub to feed with his wolf brothers. Father Wolf had fought five other wolves to obtain Raksha, the fiercest female in the pack, for his mate.

7. "Lie still, little frog, O thou X, - for X the Frog I will call thee".

Answer: Mowgli

Kipling's book says that Mowgli is an Indian word for frog, but in fact it is not, Kipling made the word up! He was called frog by the wolves because he had no fur.

8. "X, the great gray Lone Wolf, who led all the pack by strength and cunning".

Answer: Akela

All the wolves gather for a Pack Meeting at the Council Rock, where new born wolf cubs are inspected and recognised as pack members. Akela would cry "Ye know the Law - ye know the law. Look well, O Wolves" as each new cub was pushed forward to be approved.
The leader of a wolf cub pack (junior branch of the Scout movement) is called Akela. Interestingly, in my experience this position is frequently held by a woman, who may or may not excel in strength and cunning.

9. "...the only other creature who is allowed at the Pack Council - X, the sleepy brown bear..."

Answer: Baloo

If there is a dispute over the acceptance of a candidate cub, he must be spoken for by at least two members of the pack who are not his father and mother.
Baloo teaches wolf cubs the Law of the Jungle, and is an honorary member of the Council. Baloo was the first to speak for Mowgli's acceptance into the pack.

10. "A black shadow dropped down into the circle. It was X, the Black Panther..."

Answer: Bagheera

After asking leave to speak, Bagheera pointed out that in case of doubt, the life of a cub might be purchased for a price. He offered a newly killed fat bull as that price, which Akela accepted. And that was how Mowgli became a member of the wolf pack and was brought up as a wolf.

Source: Author davejacobs

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