Bagheera

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For the automobile, see Matra Bagheera.

Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody cared to cross his path; for he was as cunning as Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than down.

—Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

Feet that make no noise; eyes that can see in the dark; ears that can hear the winds in their lairs, and sharp white teeth

—Master Word of Bagheera

Bagheera (Hindi: Leopard) the black panther is an animal fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book (coll. 1894) and The Second Jungle Book (coll. 1895).

[edit] Character history

Originally born in captivity in the menagerie of the Rajah of Oodeypore, India, Bagheera begins to pine for his freedom after his mother dies. Once he is mature and strong enough he breaks the lock on his cage and escapes into the jungle, where his ferocity and cunning win him the respect of all its other inhabitants, except Shere Khan the tiger. Bagheera reveals all this to Mowgli later. None but Mowgli ever learn that Bagheera once wore a collar and chain, explaining the cat's special insight concerning Men.

When Father Wolf and Raksha of the Seeonee (Seoni) wolf pack adopt the human "cub" Mowgli and the pack demands that the new cub should be spoken for, Bagheera buys Mowgli's life with a freshly-killed bull and helps to raise him as one of the pack. Because his life has been bought by a bull, Mowgli is forbidden to eat cattle (coincidentally, just as the Hindu villagers of the region are also forbidden).

Bagheera shares in many of Mowgli's adventures as he grows, but eventually the time comes when the man-cub becomes a man and has to return to human society. Bagheera frees Mowgli of his debt to the wolf pack by killing another bull, and Mowgli returns to his adopted human mother Messua.

Bagheera is one of Mowgli's mentors. He, Baloo and Kaa sing for Mowgli "The Outsong" of the jungle.

In several adaptations of the story (such as Maugli, the animated Russian version), Bagheera is portrayed as female, since there are no major female characters in the original novel by Kipling (in case of the Russian cartoon it may be related to the fact that the word for "panther" is a female noun). In Maugli it should also be noted that she has three cubs, one black and two normally colored ones.

In Disney's adaptation, Bagheera the panther was male, and voiced by Sebastian Cabot in English. The Panther was portrayed as a clever, serious and responsible character, quite similar to the Bagheera in the novel, except that in the novel Bagheera spoiled Mowgli more. In the movie, it is Bagheera and not the wolves who first finds Mowgli in a wrecked boat, and he is the one who takes him back to the village. Bagheera is also the only other character besides Mowgli to be hypnotized by Kaa. During the movie, Bagheera often argues with Baloo, for he knows that as long as Shere Khan is in the jungle, the jungle is not safe for Mowgli despite all attempts of the bear to protect him. Bagheera is also the narrator of the movie's story.

Bagheera is also one of the major characters left out of the TaleSpin series which used several Jungle Book characters. However, many of Shere Khan's soldiers and pilots are black panthers very similar in style to Bagheera.

In some Disney comics drawn in Italy, Bagheera is depicted as a female non-anthropomorphic animal movie star, loosely based on her animated movie appearance. Originally all black, she has white body parts. She enjoys signing autographs to her fans and eating pistachio-flavored pet food, being vegetarian.

Voices of Bagheera.