Student Question
Why did Shere Khan change his hunting grounds in The Jungle Book?
Quick answer:
Shere Khan changed his hunting grounds because he angered villagers by killing their cattle, forcing him to move near the wolves, where another human village with livestock exists. His lameness prevents him from hunting wild animals successfully. The wolves are upset because the villagers will retaliate by burning the grasses, endangering the wolves and their cubs.
Shere Khan, the tiger, has decided to change his hunting grounds because he has made the people of the village by the Waingunga River, twenty miles away, very angry by killing their cattle. Because Shere Khan is lame, he can't successfully hunt wild animals. Therefore, he moves near to where the wolves live because there is a human village with livestock close by. Since these human villagers don't know about him yet, he will be able to get some of their animals before they go after him.
The wolves are not happy about this turn of events. As Mother Wolf explains, the villagers will get very angry when Shere Khan begins killing their cattle and will burn down the grasses to try to flush him out. This will force the wolves and their children to have to run to escape the fire.
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