Expert: Sindhu Menon - 11/3/2007

Question
I'm trying to make sense out of the Jungle Book stories following Mowgli.

It seems as though it's supposed to take place in India, but I've heard that wolves don't live in India. Baloo is also said to be a brown bear, but I've also read that they don't live in any jungles. I've seen Baloo be commonly referred to as a sloth bear, but I'm pretty sure that in one of the stories it said he was a brown bear.

Are these stories just inconsistent with reality (talking animals aside), or are all of the animals from the book actually located in any one area?

Answer
No, of course the stories are not inconsistent with reality. At the time when Kipling was writing, both Brown bears and wolves were abundantly present in the Himalayan area. The Brown bear is now an endangered and protected species, but the wolves are still very much present in that area.