| Akela | |
|---|---|
| The Jungle Book character | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:The_Two_Jungle_Books_1895_Akela,_the_Lone_Wolf.jpg) Akela as depicted on the frontispiece of The Two Jungle Books, published in 1895. | |
| First appearance | "Mowgli's Brothers" |
| Last appearance | "Red Dog" |
| Created by | Rudyard Kipling |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Indian wolf |
| Gender | Male |
| Spouse | Leah (in Jungle Cubs) |
| Children | 8 unnamed puppies |
| Relatives | Two parents (deceased) Leela (grand daughter) Phaona (grand son) |
Akela (Akelā also called The Lone Wolf or Big Wolf) is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's stories, The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895). He is the leader of the Seeonee pack of Indian wolves and presides over the pack's council meetings. It is at such a meeting that the pack adopts the lost child Mowgli and Akela becomes one of Mowgli's mentors.
Akelā means "single or solitary" in Hindi.[1] Kipling also calls him the Lone Wolf.[2]
Kipling portrays Akela with the character of an English gentleman. This is shown by his recurring references to the honour of the pack.[3] He is large and grey and leads the pack by virtue of his strength and cunning.[4]
Akela, the great gray Lone Wolf, who led all the Pack by strength and cunning, lay out at full length on his rock, and below him sat forty or more wolves of every size and colour.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary(subscription required)
- ^ Carolyn Rasmussen (December 2006), "The 'Lone Wolf' in sheep's clothing?", History Australia, 3 (2), doi:10.2104/ha060040, S2CID 143148044[permanent dead link]
- ^ J Nyman (June 2001), "Re-Reading Rudyard Kipling's English Heroism: Narrating Nation in The Jungle Book", Orbis Litterarum, 56 (3): 205–220, doi:10.1034/j.1600-0730.2001.d01-44.x
- ^ Georgene Bankroff (2002), A Compilation of Classy Animal Names, ISBN 978-0-595-20674-2