In Kipling’s The Jungle Book, what is the mongoose’s name in “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”?

The mongoose in Kipling’s “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is named Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is the central character of one of the best-known stories associated with The Jungle Book. The adventurous Indian grey mongoose protects a human family by confronting the cobras Nag and Nagaina. The story’s dramatic conflict centers on the mongoose’s natural ability to fight snakes and his determination to defend the household.

The name is often confused with Mowgli, the human child at the center of several other Kipling stories. Kotick is the white seal from “The White Seal,” while Toomai is the boy in “Toomai of the Elephants.” All are Kipling characters, but they belong to different stories and have different settings or animal relationships.

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is commonly published in collections of Kipling’s jungle stories, although it is not part of Mowgli’s continuous narrative. Its inclusion in The Jungle Book tradition has made the mongoose one of the author’s most familiar animal protagonists.