Kala is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Apes, and in the Walt Disney-produced animated movie Tarzan based on it. Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ... James H. Pierce and Joan Burroughs Pierce starred in the 1932-34 Tarzan radio series Tarzan, a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1914 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-three sequels. ... Tarzan of the Apes is a series of books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. ... Tarzan is the thirty-seventh animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ...

In the novel, Kala is a female in band of Great Apes, a fictional species intermediate between real life chimpanzees and gorillas. She saves the infant Tarzan from the murderous fury of Kerchak, the mad leader of the ape band, after the latter kills Tarzan's human father. Kala goes on to rear the human baby as her own while protecting him against Kerchak and her own mate, Tublat. After Tarzan reaches adulthood, Kala is killed by a native African hunter, who is afterward killed by Tarzan in revenge. Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The Hominids (Hominidae) are a biological family which includes humans, extinct species of humanlike creatures and the other great apes... Type Species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus Pan. ... Type Species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 distribution of Gorilla Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the living primates, is a ground-dwelling herbivore that inhabits the forests of Africa. ... Kerchak Kerchak is a fictional character in the Walt Disney produced animated movie, Tarzan. ...

In Disney's Tarzan (1999) and its direct-to-video sequel, Burroughs's "Great Apes" are gorillas, and Kala is the mate of Kerchak (a much more benign figure in the film) rather than Tublat. In the film's retelling Tarzan's parents are killed by Sabor the leopard, and Kala saves the infant Tarzan from Sabor, not Kerchak. She does not die in the movie. Kala was portrayed by actress Glenn Close. Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... Tarzan is the thirty-seventh animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ... Sabor is a generic name for lionesses in Mangani, the fictional language of the great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. ... Binomial name Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Felis pardus Linnaeus, 1758 The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the four big cats of the genus Panthera. ... Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ...