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 in the triumph of protagonists including Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal over their enemies, as well as Mowgli's. Another important theme is of law and freedom; the stories are not about animal behaviour, still less about the Darwinian struggle for survival, but about human archetypes in animal form. They teach respect for authority, obedience, and knowing one's place in society with "the law of the jungle", but the stories also illustrate the freedom to move between different worlds, such as when Mowgli moves between the jungle and the village. Critics have also noted the essential wildness and lawless energies in