What is the name of the panther in the Jungle Book?

In Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book," the name of the panther is Bagheera. This character takes pity on the child Mowgli when Mother Wolf and Father Wolf of the Seeonee wolf pack are fighting to keep him, so Bagheera offers to sponsor Mowgli.

Unknown to most of the story's characters, Bagheera was born in captivity, escaping after his mother died. This is part of what gives him an understanding of humans. Bagheera becomes Mowgli's lifelong friend and shares in several of his adventures.

Bagheera is the Hindustani word for leopard. "Bagh" is the word for "tiger" and "bagheera" is a sort of diminutive form of that, so it means something like "little tiger."