The Panther, as presented by Linda Hogans in Power, is representative of the fictional Taiga culture. The Panther, once strong and mighty, was weakly and sick before Ama took the Panther out of its misery. Upon reading the book, one may see the panther as a symbol of the dying Taiga culture being consumed by westerners. However, I see the Panther representing the earth as a whole. The Florida Panther, a close relative of the cougar, once roamed the entire United States and parts of Central America. Now, as North America has been industrialized and habitat has been destroyed, the panther is nearly extinct. I think this story parallels the story of the earth and how industrialization has slowly, but surely, destroyed our beautiful planet. Our earth is a magical gift given to us that the modern world has single-handily ruined. According to the Environmental News Network http://www.enn.com/climate, we are running out of potable water, the lower ozone hole is not closing as we had predicted, natural disturbances are happening at an unnatural rate, and large, blue-chip companies are still fighting any kind of progress we are trying to make towards progressive climate policies. To summarize, the earth is screwed. Why? humans. More specifically, 1st-world humans. Our fossil fuel emissions, pollution habits, and just about everything else has caused atmospheric temperatures to sky rocket and we are feeling the effects. So yes, our earth, once strong and mighty, is now weak and feeble, much like the Panther. So let me ask, who really killed the panther, Ama or westerners?