Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 88
I encountered this handsome chital stag (
Axis axis
) the next day, under condi-
tions more favorable for photography. Hunting scenes like the one I had glimpsed are becom-
ing increasingly rare as India's wildlife disappears.
of remarkable interactions between wolves and Indian villagers abound. We
all remember Rudyard Kipling's
Jungle Books
, his collection of stories about
Mowgli, the little Indian boy who was raised by wolves. (Or at least we have
been exposed to the saccharine Walt Disney version.)
Kipling was partly inspired to write the
Jungle Books
by reports, from Eng-
lish commissioners and station agents throughout India, about young vil-
lage children who had supposedly been adopted by wolf packs. The children
were later discovered and rescued, sometimes when they were in their teens.
Some of the tales are extremely detailed and accompanied by convincing-
sounding supporting statements from witnesses. It is impossible to know
