Arvind Krish Bala?s friend, Natarajan, an Irula tribesman, told him the story of his first encounter with a black panther in the Western Ghats. Natarajan had been roaming the Anaimalai hills for more than forty years and he knew every bird there, and everything about it. But the one animal he had never seen in all those years was the black panther. ?It was my son who first sighted the magnificent black beast,? said Natarajan, proudly. Black Panther tells Natarajan?s story through Veera?s voice and Ashok Rajagopalan?s stunning pastels. Together, they bring to life a silent, secretive, shy creature and create in the reader a sense of curiosity, wonder, and not a little fear.