In "The Second Jungle Book," the "man-cub" leads a pack of gray wolves in the fight against hungry wild dogs that came from the south, from the Deccan. Kipling refers to them as red dogs. They are smaller than wolves but possess considerable strength and agility, especially in a pack. Free wolves considered them wild dogs and did not recognize any kinship with them. What are these creatures?
Kipling describes red wolves.
In the Indian jungles, there are indeed "red dogs," or more accurately, red wolves (Cuon alpinus), which differ from ordinary wolves in both appearance and behavior, but belong to the same family of canids.
Red wolves inhabit mountains, dense forests, and jungles, making their dens in caves. They primarily hunt ungulates but can also consume plant food. The color of their fur, for which they received their name, ranges from reddish to reddish-brown. The inner part of their ears, chest, and belly are light-colored. Externally, the red wolf resembles a wolf, a fox, and a jackal at the same time: it has thick fur, a long bushy tail, ears with rounded tips, and a slender, flexible body. Its muzzle is relatively narrow and short, and its molars are smaller than those of a typical wolf.
Red wolves form large packs consisting of one, and less often several, families. Within the pack, mutual greetings and play are customary. These animals are quite "talkative": they produce a variety of sounds to communicate with each other. In search of food, they may undertake long migrations, venturing into unfamiliar natural regions.
However, Kipling may have somewhat exaggerated the scale of events. Packs of red wolves are not as numerous as described in the book, and it is also not typical for them to destroy all living things in their path in search of food.
