From the tales of Black Panther to White Tiger and many charming variants, explore how melanin colour codes the wild. The Dark Brown Pigment—Melanin Let me start this article with someone whom all of you know: A certain ‘Bagheera’. Yes, the ‘black panther’ from Rudyard Kipling’s masterpiece, The Jungle Book. In the book, it is Bagheera who teaches the feral boy (or ‘man cub’) Mowgli about the ‘ways of the jungle’. You may or may not have seen real-life Bagheeras in your city zoo. The first thing that may have struck you on seeing such an animal is the sheer spectacle: …
“Jhuru . . . jaldi neeche aao,” Amma shouts. Jhuru is atop a hill with his friend Bagha the leopard sprawled next to him. “Bagha, why do they always call me when I am with you?” “Well, they don’t want us to be together,” says Bagha licking his paws. “Or are they scared?” Jhuru asks. He gets up and shouts, “Amma, aataa” and proceeded to sprawl again next to Bagha.