Bagheera Bagheera Bagheera (; "Baghīrā"/"Bagīdah") is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories in the "Jungle Book" (coll. 1894) and the "Second Jungle Book" (coll. 1895). He is a black panther (melanistic Indian leopard) who serves as friend, protector and mentor to the "man-cub" Mowgli. The word "bagheera" is Hindi/Urdu for black panther-- although the root word bagh means tiger. Born in captivity in the menagerie of the Raja of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, Bagheera begins to plan for his freedom after his mother dies. Once he is mature and strong enough, he breaks the lock on his cage and escapes
The Jungle Book his scheme to develop the morale and fitness of working-class youths in cities. Akela, the head wolf in "The Jungle Book", has become a senior figure in the movement; the name is traditionally adopted by the leader of each Cub Scout pack. "The Jungle Book" has been adapted many times in a wide variety of media. In literature, Robert Heinlein wrote the Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel, "Stranger in a Strange Land" (1961), when his wife, Virginia, suggested a new version of "The Jungle Book", but with a child raised by Martians instead of wolves. Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book"