Father Wolf

Father Wolf is a fictional Indian Wolf character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in "The Jungle Book" and "The Second Jungle Book".

In the first story, "Mowgli's Brothers", Father Wolf investigates a noise outside the cave den where his mate Raksha (Mother Wolf) is suckling her cubs. Instead of the tiger Shere Khan, he is startled to see a naked human baby emerging from the bush. At Raksha's request he brings the "man's cub" to her and she decides to adopt him and name him Mowgli. Father Wolf plays very little part in the stories after this. He dies at about the same time as Raksha, when Mowgli is about 14 years old, and Mowgli mourns them and seals their bodies in their cave.

Media portrayals

In the Disney film version of The Jungle Book, Father Wolf is named Rama. In the books, his personal name is never given; Rama is instead the name of a buffalo in the human village that Mowgli briefly joins.

In the Japanese anime Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli, Father Wolf is named Alexander. He has bluish-black fur and plays a larger role than in the book; it is him, not Luri (Raksha) who faces Shere Khan. He is also the leader of the pack along side Akela. Years later, during a fire, he sacrifices his life by fighting off Shere Khan in a desperate attempt to protect his pack and family. Mowgli also has fond memories of his adoptive father.