Lost in the jungle, Mowgli is a human child raised by a wolf family. The Mother Wolf treats him as one of her cubs. The boy grows up learning self-sufficiency and wisdom from the jungle animals. He finds warm friendships with Bagheera, the black panther, and Balu, the bear, who teaches him the ways of the jungle. However, Sher Khan, the Bengal tiger, does not like Mowgli and is always on the prowl for him.
Adapted into numerous films, The Jungle Book (1895) teaches respect for authority, obedience, and understanding of one’s place in society by following the ‘laws of the jungle’. It is not about animal behaviour but human archetypes in animal form.