# Rikki-Tikki-Tavi — The Jungle Book character guide

> Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Rikki, Rikki-tikki, the valiant Rikki-tikki

**First appearance:** 0006-rikki-tikki-tavi

## Snapshot

A young mongoose washed into a British family's garden, he answers Nag's cold hiss with fluffed tail and reddening eyes, born to fight and eat snakes.

## Who they are

Rikki-tikki arrives in the garden as a half-drowned stranger, and within a day he has made enemies of Nag and Nagaina, the cobras who rule the grass and have already eaten Darzee's fledgling. His mother fed him on dead snakes, so his fear burns off fast, but he is still young enough to bite too briefly and leap clear when an older mongoose would have broken a cobra's back. His quarrel with the snakes turns a quiet bungalow into a battleground, and his loyalty to the family that dried him off gives the early story its bright, quick pulse.

## Relationships

### [Kala Nag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/kala_nag)

_friendship_

Kala Nag, the wise old elephant, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the brave mongoose, share a mutual respect and occasional cooperation across different stories.

### [Teddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/teddy)

_friendship_

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi forms a loyal bond with the human boy Teddy, protecting him and his family from snakes.

### [Darzee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/darzee)

_friendship_

Darzee and his wife assist Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by acting as lookouts and messengers in the fight against the cobras.

### [Chuchundra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/chuchundra)

_social_

Chuchundra, the timid muskrat, is a fearful acquaintance of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, providing warnings from the shadows.

### [Kala Nag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/kala_nag)

_friendship_

Kala Nag, the wise old elephant, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the brave mongoose, share a mutual respect and occasional cooperation across different stories.

### [Darzee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/darzee)

_friendship_

Darzee and his wife assist Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by acting as lookouts and messengers in the fight against the cobras.

### [Darzee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/darzee)

_friendship_

Darzee and his wife assist Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by acting as lookouts and messengers in the fight against the cobras.

### [Kala Nag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/kala_nag)

_friendship_

Kala Nag, the wise old elephant, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the brave mongoose, share a mutual respect and occasional cooperation across different stories.

### [Chuchundra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/chuchundra)

_social_

Chuchundra, the timid muskrat, is a fearful acquaintance of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, providing warnings from the shadows.

### [Teddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/teddy)

_friendship_

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi forms a loyal bond with the human boy Teddy, protecting him and his family from snakes.

### [Teddy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/teddy)

_friendship_

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi forms a loyal bond with the human boy Teddy, protecting him and his family from snakes.

### [Chuchundra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/chuchundra)

_social_

Chuchundra, the timid muskrat, is a fearful acquaintance of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, providing warnings from the shadows.

## In the story

### [The Jungle Book](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/chapters/the-jungle-book)

Mongoose rescued by an English family, defends them by killing snakes Karait, Nag, and Nagaina.

### [Rikki-Tikki-Tavi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/chapters/rikki-tikki-tavi)

The protagonist mongoose, brave and curious, who single-handedly fights and kills the cobras Nag and Nagaina to protect the English family.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters/rikki_tikki_tavi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jungle_book_se/characters