Bagheera pigmentation, which is why he is commonly referred to as a black panther. In Disney's 1967 animated adaptation, Bagheera the panther is, as in the book, male, and voiced by Sebastian Cabot. The panther is portrayed as an intelligent, mature, and logical character, quite similar to the Bagheera in the books. In the film, it is Bagheera and not the wolves who first finds Mowgli, a young village child. It is Bagheera who brings Mowgli to the care of the wolves and ensures that the baby survives. He is also the one who takes him back to the village, for
The Jungle Book (1967 film) and follows her into the Man-Village. After Mowgli chooses to stay in the Man-Village, Baloo and Bagheera decide to head home, content that Mowgli is safe and happy with his own kind. Asterisks mark actors listed in the opening credits as "Additional Voices". After "The Sword in the Stone" was released, storyman Bill Peet claimed to Walt Disney that "we [the animation department] can do more interesting animal characters" and suggested that Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" could be used for the studio's next film. Disney agreed and Peet created an original treatment, with little supervision, as he had done