Amaruq is a vicious wolf in Balto: The Series. He appeared in the episode Survival of the Fittest, in which he is voiced by John Schneider.
Biography[]
Amaruq was born in Alaska at an unspecified date. He was part of an unknown wolf pack, along with his friend Pakak. They were later banished and Amaruq later took over another pack, killing its leader-his brother-and banishing his son Ramuq-his nephew-who would later defeat him.
Appearance and personality[]
Amaruq is a large muscular wolf. He has grey-black fur and yellow eyes. Amaruq is a cruel, stubborn and violent individual. He is particularly cruel to the aging and ailing members of the pack. He believes in the survival of the fittest, regarding the older and sick individuals as "worthless" and that they will "ruin" the pack. He is also extremely headstrong and stands by what he believes, claiming "that's the way of the world".
Appearances[]
Survival of the Fittest
Amaruq appears in this episode. Ramuq guides Balto and his son Kodi to his former wolf pack. He and Pakak tell Balto and Kodi about how they conquered the pack and claimed it as their own. After he has a talk with the older wolves, Balto argues with Amaruq about leaving them to die. Through the song, Survival of the Fittest, he proclaims that is how things have been and always will be.
After talking to Ramuq about becoming leader of his pack, Balto and Kodi fight Amaruq and Pakak. As Amaruq readies himself to kill his victims, he is incapacitated by Ramuq. The fight also attracts the attention of a vicious polar bear. Amaruq tries to fight the bear in a last-ditch effort to assert his dominance, to no avail. The rest of the pack manage to attack the polar bear after it critically injures Amaruq. Just then, the cliff they are standing on crumbles and Amaruq falls into the freezing ocean. His final words are, "Someone! Help--" before he is swept away and drowns. Ramuq later becomes leader of his pack and thanks Balto and Kodi before bidding them farewell.
Trivia[]
- John Schneider won the role of Amaruq after Kiefer Sutherland, Christopher McDonald, Mark Ruffalo, Liam Neeson, Michael Madsen and William H. Macy backed out.
- His name means "grey wolf" in Inuit.
- Amaruq's singing voice and speaking voice is provided by John Schneider. Originally, his singing voice was to be provided by Tommy Lee, the drummer of critically acclaimed heavy metal group Motley Crue, but he was unavailable.
- Although Amaruq choosing to let elderly and sick wolves die seems cruel, this is actually something that happens in nature. Members of an animal community will willingly let older and sick members die, which benefits the species on the whole.