Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

What is a mongoose?
Type:Mammal
Diet:Carnivore
Average life span in captivity:20 years
Size: Head and body, 7 to 25 in (18 to 64 cm); Tail, 6 to 21 in (15 to 53 cm)
Weight:12 oz to 11 lb (340 g to 5 kg)
Protection status: Threatened
Did you know? Mummified mongooses and images of the species have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs.

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Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

 

 

Where do mongooses live?

 

Key: Yellow = typical mongoose territory

Riki-Tikki-Tavi the cartoon

Narrated by Orson Wells, this animated cartoon is an adaptation of a short story titled "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling. The story focuses on an English family in India who discover a mongoose half drowned from a storm and decide to keep it. Rikki-Tikki soon finds himself confronted by two murderous cobras, Nag and Nagaina.

Journal Assignment

1. Read up to the end of page 13. What are the main events that have happened up to that point? Predict what will happen next. 
2. Finish reading the story. Were your predictions accurate? Discuss how your predictions were or were not accurate.
3. Describe the most important event in the story. Give at least three reasons why you think it is the most important event.
4. List three new vocabulary words from your reading. What can you tell about them from their structure? What can you tell about them from their context?
5. Write a question to ask a classmate about the story.
6. List three new vocabulary words from your reading. What can you tell about them from their structure? What can you tell about them from their context?