Bagheera My Hero

Back in the days of my youth, the woman who feeds me would read aloud to the younger members of her litter and my favourite was Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

The bits about Bagheera were the best.

When I grew up, I said to myself, I too would be as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant.

Those days are now long gone, the world has moved past and I spend my hours in the morning sun contemplating the lost dreams of youth but, inside me, the voice of Bagheera still whispers. Softly he whispers, as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree.

You may not realise this, but Bagheera did not always run free in the jungle. He was born in captivity in the menagerie of the Rajah of Oodeypore, and tells Mowgli in confidence ..

In the cage my life began

But Bagherera seized his opportunity when he grew strong enough to break the lock on the cage and, turning his back on the decadent luxury of the Rajah's palace, escaped into the jungle where his natural intelligence, ferocity and innate blackness earned him the respect of all the denizens of the Wild. (Except for one conceited tiger).

Once I lay languishing in a cage at the Veterinary Hospital, and it was the image of Bagheera breaking out to run free that kept my spirits from going under. If Bagheera could do it, I could too

When Bagheera escaped he took up his rightful pace as Numero Uno of the Night.

All the other jungle creatures recognised the natural superiority of Bagheera, with one exception, the arrogant Shere Khan.

But Bagheera triumphed over Shere Khan and brought Mowgli safely to the man-village just as I will eventually triumph over the arrogant Siamese who hurls insults at me from the fence.

Black panthers are powerful, intelligent, and exotic animals, somewhat like myself but on a larger scale. These cats live mainly in dense rainforest areas where the dark coat gives remarkably good camouflage. I can vouch for the advantages of being black myself, many has been the time I remained unseen while lurking in the rhododendrons.

Camouflage helps all animals to avoid dangerous enemies (in my case, this means the uncontrollable labrador two doors down) and camouflage is a great asset when stalking prey. You will notice the dearth of Indian Mynas in my territory.

Of course panthers in the wild rely on very different food than that which I enjoy. They prefer snacks of deer, snakes, monkeys and even a boar if they can snaffle one. Mind you, I've knocked off a few rodents in my time and recently put paid to a snake which was attempting to slither into the woman's house but, on the whole, my lot is a happier one as I have no worries about my next meal. Nor do I lose sleep over the imminent extinction of my own species, the Felis catus.

A black jaguar