Meaning of Name: Inuit for "Guardian Spirit"

Gender: Male

Age: 22 human years

Species: Grey Wolf (Canis Lupus)

Subspecies: Kenai Peninsula Wolf (Canis Lupus Alces)

Appearance: Atka represents a full grown, healthy male of his species, standing 47 inches tall, and is nine feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail. Weighing 250 pounds and having a very strong and robust build, Atka is thought to be larger than any other living wolf, a trait that makes other predators think twice before facing him. This large size makes him perfectly adapted for hunting large prey like moose. He has a long, beautifully groomed coat of white fur that more than keeps him warm in winter. He has powerful legs that allow him to run for great distances despite his age, and his unusually large paws give him sure footing even in deep snow. His eyes are sky blue in color, and one clean scar runs down from his left eye to the middle of his cheek. Atka will often stand in a regal posture.

Personality: Atka is a very stoic and serious wolf who takes life slow and cautiously. He is very observant and wise, having a long life of experiences and hardships that few live to tell about. Despite preferring to be a loner, Atka shows signs of loneliness and his bitterness can be traced to this. He is also very caring at heart, and has a soft spot for younglings, taking his personal experiences as a pup in a hard life as motivation for this. He is at the point in his life where he is contempt and at peace, but still lives a busy life while remaining as elusive as possible. He talks slowly and clearly, speaking only when he needs to, and when others need him to.

Likes: Solitude; Winter; other wolves; food; cubs/children/offspring; teaching

Dislikes: Humans, firearms; fire; poison; disease; loneliness

History: Atka was born in a hard time for his kind in the Kenai Peninsula, when miners and settlers were hunting the same prey and driving out the few of his species that remained, fearful of the large wolves. Consequently, by the time Atka was four years old, his pack was among the last to survive the hunters, who were now working with miners to poison the large moose that they relied on for food. The leader of his pack, Sitka, gave the ultimatum: they would have to leave in order to survive. As they fled Northeast, however, the pack began to dwindle as they proceeded into the mountains, losing packmates along the way. After finding no success in the mountains, the pack moved West in hopes of finding a suitable place with large prey to call home. By the time they reached the tundra several hundred miles east of Nome, he and his mate, Renaia, were the only survivors.

Despite mourning the loss of their pack and concerned with encountering humans, Atka and Renaia had six pups somewhere around 1915, and dedicated their efforts to keeping their little family alive. They were happy together, and were able to thrive on the large game for two years. Things would change in 1917, when a rabies outbreak created havoc in the small valley that they had made their home in. It not only made prey more aggressive, it also made other predators go crazy; after a hunting trip, Atka returned to the den only to discover that a large pack of smaller wolves infected by the rabies had invaded their territory and had found the cave. Whatever happened next must have been truly horrifying as he refuses to talk about it to this day.

Atka was forced to migrate Westward, and by 1925 was living near Nome. As much as he hated being in such close proximity to humans, he knew that the threat of diseases was much less likely, and he could also contribute to the local wolf packs. Though his particular breed was considered extinct at this time, a few hunters have returned home telling stories of seeing Atka, and while many attempts to hunt or trap him have been made, none have succeeded in more than spotting the wise and elusive wolf. The rumors and sightings of Atka have drawn in a few biologists who hoped to find him and confirm that the Kenai Peninsula wolf is not extinct. Many of the more superstitious believe him to be a guardian spirit who watches over the land while scaring off poachers and crooked hunters.

In the last few years, Atka has been quite an enigma for the local dogs and wolves. He has often held counsel with Nava concerning the natural balance, as well as presenting warnings of several threats that included diseases. Having great respect for the aging leader of the pack, Atka trusted in the visions that the latter had, and quite possibly has had some sort of connection to Aniu during meditations, though the extent of this is unclear. While he has often associated with the local packs, Atka remains separate and solitary, recognizing his inability to fit in with the smaller wolves. Taking on the role of caretaker, Atka watches over the land and lends a paw to those in distress, and on one occasion he even reunited a young human boy with his family after getting separated from his father, despite his grievances.

After Aleu led the largest local pack across an ice bridge, Atka reunited with Nava and Niju, and the three have often been seen hunting together (and Atka often having to settle the tension between the two smaller wolves). Needless to say, for a large wolf with as much mileage as he has and for a wolf who is quite possibly the last of his kind, Atka has a lot of life left in him, and still has much that he can teach younger canines.

Living Relatives: Unknown

Mate: Renaia, deceased(?)

Connection to Balto and other movie characters: Will speak to Balto and others on occasion about changes in the local wildlife and coming threats. Atka often hunts with Nava and Niju, and shares life experiences with the other aging wolf and his more aggressive companion (and often diffusing tension between the two smaller wolves).

Other: On the rare occasion that Atka laughs, his deep, aged and commanding voice makes for a laugh that is both chilling and something to behold.

Voice Actor: Sir Christopher Lee