Akela

Akela is a minor character in the 1967 Disney animated feature film The Jungle Book. He is the leader of the wolf pack that came to adopt Mowgli, the man-cub.
==Appearances==
===The Jungle Book===
Akela, like the other wolves, is seen at the beginning of the film. Though he is glad at how content Mowgli is with jungle life, he knows as well as the rest of the wolves that he will eventually have to go back to his own kind once he is able to take care of himself. That day finally comes one night when the pack learns that Shere Khan had returned to their part of the jungle. Akela states that Shere Khan will surely kill him (as well as anyone who tries to protect him), so he tells Rama that he must leave for his own protection. Rama, against the idea of abandoning someone who is like his biological cubs, tries to say that Mowgli is entitled to the pack's protection, but Akela tells him that not even the strength of the entire pack could fight off the tiger, even though the man-cub is incapable of surviving in the jungle. Bagheera, who had been watching the meeting from afar, steps in and tells them of the nearby Man Village where Shere Khan cannot harm Mowgli. Akela agrees, and he and the other wolves are not seen again afterwards.
===Jungle Cubs===
Akela and his mate, Leah, appear as teenagers in the episode "The Coming of the Wolves". At one point, their pack leader, Cain, reveals that he has had feelings for Leah and wanted her all to himself, but she rejects him. Akela and Leah then decide to leave the pack. When Cain and his pack give chase in an attempt to kill the two wolf traitors, Akela and Leah manage to escape and seek refuge in the lair without knowing it belongs to the cubs. After Hathi panics at the sight of the two wolves and flees, Akela and Leah laugh awkwardly and decide to rest where they are.
Sometime later, the cubs have a falling-out with Akela and Leah, who both eventually decide to leave. However, when Cain and his pack arrive at the lair and plan to attack, Akela and the cubs all stand up to him. Akela and Cain then engage in a brutal fight over Leah. In the aftermath, Akela defeats Cain and then orders him to leave the cubs' lair and never return. Cain picks himself up and reluctantly does so.
Shere Khan and the other cubs, having a change of heart, tell the two wolves that they can stay at their lair. Just then, Leah goes into labor and has eight wolf puppies. As a reward for the cubs' kindness, Akela and Leah make them the godfathers of their puppies.
===The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story===
Akela appears in this movie, but he has less of a major role.
Akela is present attending Hathi's meeting at the watering hole. During the meeting, Hathi puts in a rule about hunting, indicating that no animal is allowed to eat other animals or hunt during the dry season, to which Akela reacts in over Hathi's rule much to him and his wolf pack reacting in concern just as the tiger Shere Khan overhears the concern.
As Mowgli finds himself inside the wolf pack's den, Akela warns his family that Mowgli could be a threat when he grows up to which his wife Raksha tells him that Mowgli is gentle, much to Akela giving his wife Raksha the responsibilities just as she advises him that a man-cub needs care to which Akela understands his wife's advice. Akela then agrees to allow his wife to allow Mowgli in the wolf pack. This is, however, interrupted when the hyena Tabaqui spies on the wolf pack just as the wolves confront Tabaqui inside the den for being an unwelcome guest. Akela then becomes furious for insulting the wolf pack just as he wards him off in rage. Mowgli, now older, attends Akela's meeting to which during the meeting, a wolf scout howls to alert the pack that Shere Khan has arrived, to which it is known that the tiger survived his encounter with the hunters, planning to take revenge against Mowgli. Later, Akela officially welcomes Mowgli into the pack, alongside his daughter Li'l Raksha during a meeting with the wolves.
The next day, Akela talks to his pack during a hunting lesson in a plan to hunt deer to help Mowgli stand up against Shere Khan, telling the wolves that they will split into three groups, telling Mowgli that he and Raksha will hide behind the left side of the ridge while Li'l Raksha, Mowgli, and two other hunters will come up from the right side with assistance from some brother wolves straight up a hill to cut off their escape just as Akela gives out the signal, only for the plan to catch at least one deer to be a failure.
After Raksha was killed, Akela is seen mourning the death of his wife who was killed by Shere Khan while trying to protect Mowgli just as Akela, his family, and the friends of the jungle mourn over Raksha. Furious about this, Mowgli risks himself to leave the jungle to never come back, claiming that it was his fault. Akela is not seen again after that, even after Mowgli returned to the jungle to regain his courage to defeat Shere Khan and Tabaqui in battle.
===The Jungle Book (2016)===
Akela appears in the 2016 live-action film adaptation, voiced by Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito has described Akela as "strong and hardened" and welcoming of Mowgli into his pack, but at the same time, worried that Mowgli will one day compromise the safety of his family.
Akela appears in the film as the alpha wolf, the strong patriarch of the Seeonee wolf pack. After his old friend Bagheera finds Mowgli in the jungle, it is Akela who approves of Mowgli's entrance into the pack and lets him be adopted by Raksha. He and Raksha teach Mowgli the ways of the wolves, and over time, Akela comes to disapprove of Mowgli using tools and innovative tricks, saying that they are not the wolf way.
During the drought that hits the Seoni Jungle, the wolves gather with the other animals at the Water Truce, the watering hole where the animals make peace with one another in times of famine to drink safely. During their drinking, Akela notices Mowgli using tools to gather water and gives him a gentle reprimand. When Shere Khan shows himself at the watering hole for a drink, Akela orders Mowgli to stay behind him and refers to the boy as part of his pack when the tiger detects his presence. Shere Khan threatens the pack if they refuse to turn Mowgli over, and causes internal strife with his words. The tiger agrees not to violate the sanctity of the Water Truce and warns Akela that he will return when the monsoon season fills the Water Truce. After the encounter, the entire pack debates on whether or not Mowgli should leave the pack or not. However, Mowgli decides to leave so that no one is hurt because of him. With Bagheera agreeing to take him, Akela agrees that Mowgli should go to the Man-Village, and watches him leave. When Shere Khan returns, he and Akela sit together and discuss Mowgli. Akela says that Mowgli has left the jungle and that with him gone, he and Shere Khan have no quarrel any longer. However, the furious tiger attacks and throws Akela off a cliff, killing him. Shere Khan then assumes Akela's position as alpha of the wolf pack and tells them to spread the word of Akela's demise, hoping it will lure Mowgli back to his death.
Akela's demise spreads quickly through the jungle and has far-reaching consequences, as it causes Mowgli to avenge him after hearing it from King Louie. With the help of Bagheera, Baloo the bear, and the other wolves including Raksha, Mowgli manages to kill Shere Khan, avenging Akela's death. In the aftermath of the battle with Shere Khan, Raksha becomes the new leader of the Seeonee pack while Mowgli is reaccepted by the wolves as part of their family.
==Differences from the source material==
*In the books, Akela plays a major role in the overall story. In the Disney version, he only appears in one scene.
*In the books, Akela is Raksha's uncle. The Disney version mentions no family ties between them.
*In the books, Akela considered the Law of the Jungle as absolute, which is why he banished Mowgli for bringing fire into the jungle despite him having used it to save him from Shere Khan. In the Disney version, Akela's views on the Law are not mentioned.
*Akela does not die in the Disney version, while in the books he dies from his wounds after the battle against the dholes.
*In the 2016 live-action film, Akela was killed by Shere Khan when he angrily threw him off the cliff.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Akela means "single" or "solitary" in Hindi; Kipling also calls him the "Lone Wolf." Indeed, in the original stories, after he misses his kill and is demoted from the position of Alpha, Akela leaves his pack to hunt alone.
*Despite Akela's page in Disneystrology being on January 17, Raksha along with her puppies' picture is seen instead.
*Akela and the rest of his pack are Indian wolves, a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Israel to India. They are currently classified as an endangered species as only around 3,000 remain in India while 7,000 are believed to exist in Turkey, with smaller numbers also existing in Iran, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
*In the 2016 version, he seems to have a dislike for Grey Brother.
*Shere Khan attacks and kills Akela onscreen and throws him off the cliff in the 2016 film, while in The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story, he attacks and kills Raksha, but it was never shown onscreen.
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