Akela (Jungle Book)
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Akela (''Akelā'' also called The Lone Wolf or Big Wolf) is a fictional character in
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's stories, ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...
'' (1894) and ''
The Second Jungle Book ''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living i ...
'' (1895). He is the leader of the
Seeonee Seoni, formerly spelled Seeonee, is a city and a municipality in Seoni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This tribal household dominated district was formed in the year 1956. Rudyard Kipling used the forests of the Satpura Rang ...
pack of
Indian wolves The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant win ...
and presides over the pack's council meetings. It is at such a meeting that the pack adopts the lost child
Mowgli Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kiplin ...
and Akela becomes one of Mowgli's
mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
s. ''Akelā'' means "single or solitary" in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. Kipling also calls him the ''Lone Wolf.'' Kipling portrays Akela with the character of an English
gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...
. This is shown by his recurring references to the
honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...
of the pack. He is large and grey and leads the pack by virtue of his
strength Strength may refer to: Personal trait *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Character strengths like those listed in the Values in Action Inventory *The exercise of willpower Physics * Mechanical strength, the ability to withstand ...
and
cunning Cunning may refer to: * Cunning (owarai), a Japanese comedy duo * Cunning folk, a type of folk magician * Cunning (surname), a list of people with Cunning as a surname See also * * * Cunningham (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...
.


Character history

Nine or ten years after Mowgli's adoption, his enemy
Shere Khan Shere Khan () is a fictional Bengal tiger featured in the Mowgli stories of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book, Jungle Book''. He is often portrayed as the main antagonist in the book's media adaptations, itself an exaggeration of his role in ...
the
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
, with the aid of some young wolves he has persuaded to support him, plans to depose Akela so that he will no longer be able to defend Mowgli. A wolf who becomes too old to hunt is traditionally driven out or killed by his pack. Akela is far from decrepit, but the young wolves deliberately drive a young, healthy buck
deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
toward him, knowing that he will not be able to catch it. When the council meets to depose Akela, Mowgli defends him with a blazing branch and drives Shere Khan and his allies away. After Shere Khan's departure the remaining wolves beg Akela to stay, but he refuses to remain pack leader and decides to hunt alone. Phao becomes the new pack leader, Mowgli returns to human society, at least for a time, and Akela hunts alone. During this period Akela helps Mowgli to kill Shere Khan with the aid of the human village's
water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...
herd. Some years later, when Mowgli has been rejected by human society and the pack is threatened with extinction by a rampaging pack of
dholes The dhole ( ; ''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It is anatomically distinguished from members of the genus ''Canis'' in several aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third ...
, Akela joins the battle and fights to the death, finally dying in Mowgli's company ("Red Dog", in ''
The Second Jungle Book ''The Second Jungle Book'' is a sequel to ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories, all but one set in India, most of which Kipling wrote while living i ...
''). Akela did this for the love of Mowgli and his death is a major factor in Mowgli's decision to finally return to human society at the age of 17.


Disney

* In the animated 1967 Disney adaptation, Akela (voiced by
John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbo ...
) only has a brief role at the beginning of the film, when the council of wolves meet after Shere Khan's return to the jungle to decide what to do about Mowgli's future. Acknowledging Shere Khan on their own, they decide to send Mowgli away, with
Bagheera Bagheera ( / ''Baghīrā'') is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in '' The Jungle Book'' (coll. 1894) and '' The Second Jungle Book'' (coll. 1895). He is a black panther ( melanistic Indian leopard) who serves as frie ...
volunteering to take Mowgli back to the man-village. * A younger Akela appears in an episode of the prequel cartoon series ''
Jungle Cubs ''Jungle Cubs'' is an American animated series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC in 1996, serving as the prequel to the 1967 film ''The Jungle Book'' as it's set in the youth of the animal characters years before the events o ...
'', looking at the animal characters in their youth (voiced by
Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...
). In the episode "The Coming of the Wolves", Akela and Leah (voiced by
Kath Soucie Kath Soucie (, ). is an American voice actress, known for voicing Phil, Lil and their mother Betty DeVille in '' Rugrats'', Lola Bunny in the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise, Fifi La Fume and Li'l Sneezer in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Maddie Fent ...
) run away from their old wolf pack as the pack leader Cain (voiced by
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...
) wants Leah for himself, forcing the two younger wolves to escape and retreat to the old temple that serves as the group's ''Cubhouse''. Although
Shere Khan Shere Khan () is a fictional Bengal tiger featured in the Mowgli stories of Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book, Jungle Book''. He is often portrayed as the main antagonist in the book's media adaptations, itself an exaggeration of his role in ...
initially objects to their presence when the rest of the pack arrives, the young cubs agree to help Akela and Leah, driving the rest of the pack away as Akela battles and defeats Cain. At the conclusion of the episode, Akela and Leah become the parents of a group of wolf cubs, with the other animals being appointed the cubs' godfathers. Despite their evident closeness to the other cubs in this episode, Akela and Leah never appeared again in the series. * Akela plays a bigger role in the live-action Disney film '' Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story'', voiced by
Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...
. In this adaptation, he is also the father of Mowgli's adopted family and mate of Raksha. * In the 2016 live-action/CGI hybrid film,
Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence by portraying Gus Fring in the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011), a role he reprised in ...
voices Akela. In an interview, Esposito describes his character as the wolf pack's fierce patriarch and as "strong and hardened" as well as "a great leader and wise teacher", welcoming of Mowgli into his pack, but at the same time, worried that Mowgli may compromise the pack's safety in the future. In the film, Akela adopts Mowgli into his pack after Bagheera rescues him. However, years later, Shere Khan threatens the wolf pack upon finding Mowgli at a gathering at the watering hole during a drought. This causes disagreement to break out on whether Mowgli should leave the pack, but Mowgli decides to leave to protect them before a decision is reached. Upon Shere Khan's return, Akela tells him that Mowgli has left. Shere Khan then kills Akela by throwing him off a cliff and assumes command of the wolf pack. Akela's death has far-reaching effects, spreading through the jungle until Mowgli hears of his murder from
King Louie King Louie is a fictional character introduced in Walt Disney's animated musical film ''The Jungle Book''. He is an orangutan who leads other jungle primates and wants to become more human-like by gaining knowledge of fire from Mowgli. King Lo ...
and decides to avenge him. Akela is finally avenged when Mowgli kills Shere Khan by causing him to fall into a pit of fire beneath a tree. Afterwards, Raksha takes Akela's place as the new leader of the pack.


Other adaptations

* Akela is also a major character in the Japanese-produced ''
Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli is a Japanese anime adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's original collection of stories, ''The Jungle Book'' produced by Nippon Animation in co-production with Italian animation studio Mondo TV and Doro TV Merchandising. It aired in 1989, and co ...
'', where he is voiced by
Yuzuru Fujimoto was a Japanese voice actor. Filmography Television animation ;1960s *'' Gigantor'' (1963) – Narrator *''Ōgon Bat'' (1967) – Narrator *''Humanoid Monster Bem'' (1968) – Narrator ;1970s *''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972) – A dete ...
in the Japanese and Walter Massey in the English dub. Akela is the leader of the wolf pack but, as he is growing old, he agrees to pass the leadership onto a worthy successor. When Alexander beats Vermillion in a contest, Akela passes the leadership onto Alexander while Vermillion leaves the pack. However, after Alexander's death, Akela takes back his role as leader. Briefly, during the series, Vermillion returns to take the leadership of the pack, but later leaves to lead another wolf pack on the plains. Therefore, Akela assumes the leadership of the pack once more, but since he had become too feeble and old to be an active leader, he stayed in his lair for most of his day. Subsequently, Luri takes over the leadership of the pack from Akela, but he stays on as an adviser and is given the title of the "Wise Old Wolf". At the very end of the series, Akela gets severely injured in a battle against a pack of jackals, and although he manages to recover from the wounds, he is severely weakened from the fight and soon dies. * In '' Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'', Akela is voiced by
Peter Mullan Peter Mullan (; born 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. His credits include '' Riff-Raff'' (1991), '' Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Braveheart'' (1995), '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' My Name Is Joe'' (1998), '' The Claim'' (2000), '' Neds'' ( ...
. He and his pack adopt Mowgli and keep him safe from Shere Khan and Tabaqui. Shere Khan states to Akela that he will return to claim his territory the day when Akela misses his prey. Years later, this happens when Akela fails to catch a deer. When Shere Khan and Tabaqui arrive, they get some of the wolves on their side and Akela is challenged. Mowgli uses fire to drive them away, but shames himself in the eyes of Akela, who regretfully tells Mowgli to leave the pack immediately. Shere Khan and his minions quickly drive Akela and his supporters to the edge of the jungle. When Mowgli seeks their help in defeating Shere Khan, Akela refuses, as it would break the jungle law. However, during the duel between Shere Khan and Mowgli outside the man village, Akela has a change of heart and saves Mowgli from the tiger, but in doing takes the bullet the hunter John Lockwood meant for Shere Khan. Before Akela dies, he admits to his own faults before apologizing for abandoning Mowgli and gives the boy his blessing to lead the jungle's creatures and the wolf pack. * In the Soviet animated series ''
Adventures of Mowgli ''Adventures of Mowgli'' (; also spelled ''Maugli'') is an animated feature-length story originally released as five animated shorts of about 20 minutes each between 1967 and 1971 in the Soviet Union. It is based on Rudyard Kipling's '' The Jungle ...
'', Akela is voiced by Lev Lubetsky and Yuri Puzyryov. In the joint Russian-American production of 1996 for the English-speaking audience he is voiced by David Kaye.


Influence

Lord Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...
, the founder of
scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
, based aspects of
Cub Scout Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a group of Cubs ...
ing on Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli Stories. In Cub Scouting, the terms "Law of the Pack", " Akela" (the leader of a group), "Wolf Cub", "
Grand Howl The Grand Howl is a ceremony used by Cub Scouts and Brownies (Scouting), Brownies. It was devised by Robert Baden-Powell, the author of the scouting guide ''Scouting for Boys'', and is based on the Mowgli stories in Rudyard Kipling's ''Jungle Boo ...
", "den", and "pack" all refer to Kipling's work. He wrote ''
The Wolf Cub's Handbook ''The Wolf Cub's Handbook'' is an instructional handbook on Wolf Cubs training, published in various editions since December 1916. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensively rewritte ...
'', in which he compares scouting to a wolf pack and scout leaders to the character of Akela. The cubs usually chant in their pack meetings, "Akela, we will do our best."


References

{{The Jungle Book The Jungle Book characters Wolves in literature Literary characters introduced in 1894 Male characters in literature