MBTI Type: ENFJ

Shere Khan’s tactics from the start involve social and emotional dynamics – he abides by the rules of the water hole during peacetime, even though he makes threats against the man cub, but instills a sense of fear in them all by warning them that one day the treaty will end and he’ll come for Mowgli. He comes to the wolf pack, pretends to be compliant with their treaty, then kills their leader and tosses him off a cliff, to establish dominance. To keep the lesser wolves and Mowgli’s mother in line, he entices her children into listening to and playing near him, unaware of the danger, then tells an allegory about how birds who raise young other than their own wind up sacrificing their own children – a deliberate threat. His attack on the wolf leader is because he knows it will incite Mowgli to violence. He manages to stop Mowgli on the burning branch by raising the emotional issue of the wolf’s loss, knowing it will cause Mowgli to turn on him (and give him a chance to kill him). His low Ti shows in his inability to assess when it’s time to pull back and not risk his life in pursuit of the man-cub. Shere Khan knows little of Mowgli, but he intuits that an attack against his loved ones will bring him running back. He claims to have seen Mowgli’s future and every action he takes is oriented to stopping Mowgli from reaching adulthood and becoming a threat. He is so hell-bent on his singular goal of killing Mowgli that he fails to assess the sensory situation around him (that he’s now trapped himself on a branch above an inferno) and unable to adjust to compensate for it. He speaks sometimes in allegorical terms, using metaphors to impress his intentions on others. He clearly already has a plan in mind when he approaches the wolf pack, so his attack is neither impulsive nor spontaneous – and then he simply lounges around, keeping control, and waiting for Mowgli to come to him. When he does engage in physical combat, his sheer strength allows him to fight off most animals – but he miscalculates the sensory world, fails to see Mowgli has established an escape route, and falls to his death.

Enneagram: 8w9 so/sp

He is calm, collected, and powerful… he orders others to give him what he wants and expects obedience. Those who do not give in, he dispatches, without much anger… just sheer determination and a persistent need to push the animals to get what he wants. Part of his anger at the wolves’ rebellion comes from his desire to dominate them; his 8 wants to be seen as “king of the jungle” and does not like disobedience. He is fearless and risk-taking in an effort to maintain control. His 9 fix adds a degree of detached calm to his power-struggles.