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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).

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 learns that Bagheera once wore a collar and chain.

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 is one of the three who sing for Mowgli "The Outsong" of the jungle.

In several adaptations of the story (such as the animated Russian version), Bagheera is portrayed as female, since there are no major female characters in the original novel by Kipling. In Maugli it should be noted that she has three cubs, one black and two normally colored ones. This has lead fans to believe that Bagheera had a mate but is never seen.

In Disney's adaptation, Bagheera the panther was male, and voiced by Sebastian Cabot in English and Luis Manuel Pelayo in Spanish. 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. 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. Voices of Bagheera.

• Sebastian Cabot (The Jungle Book)
• Luis Manuel Pelayo (The Jungle Book(Spanish version))
• Bob Joles (The Jungle Book 2))
• Greg Kinnear (The Musical Life of Zack and Cody)

• Like all of the main Jungle Book Characters, Bagheera is used as a name for an adult leader in many Cub Scout Packs.

• Bagheera is also the name of a genus of jumping spiders, named after the character.

• Bagheera is also track 11 from Blues Traveler's second album (1991) Travelers & Thieves.

• Bagheera is also the name of a sports car, Matra Simca Bagheera, built between 1973 and 1980.