The list of characters that die in The Jungle Book include Shere Khan, Tabaqui, Karait, Nag, Nagaina, and the latter couple's babies in the eggs. The majority of these characters die in the story of Rikki-tikki-tavi, which tells readers of a heroic mongoose. Rikki kills, or helps to defeat, all of these snakes at various parts in the story, protecting himself and the humans that saved him at the story's start.

Rikki meets Darzee, the tailorbird, and is told of how one of the bird's young was killed by the snake Nag. Both Nag and his wife, Nagaina, soon appear, and Rikki narrowly escapes their attack and manages to defeat Karait, the dust snake. Rikki later learns of Nag and Nagaina's plans to kill the family that Rikki lives with, and the two snakes have already entered the home. Rikki attacks Nag while the snake is sleeping, and the father of the family, roused by all the commotion, comes to Rikki's aid and shoots Nag. The next morning, Rikki finds Nagaina's eggs and smashes all but one, then rushes to help save Teddy from the mother snake. Nagaina takes hold of her remaining egg and slinks off to her underground lair, where Rikki finds and kills her.

In the story titled "Tiger! Tiger!," Shere Khan and Tabaqui are killed as well. Tabaqui, the jackal, is killed by Gray Brother after being interrogated for information about Shere Khan's plan to return and kill Mowgli. Gray Brother flatly states that he broke Tabaqui's back. Shere Khan, while hiding in a ravine, is killed by a herd of cattle that Akela, Gray Brother, and Mowgli manage to steer toward Shere Khan to trample him, defeating the vengeful tiger at last.