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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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Probably the most western population of the South China tiger, but the Caspian/Bengal tiger is also possible.
Here is where the Qinghai province located in China which is the northeastern part of the Tibetan plateau.  *This image is copyright of its original author
MARCO POLO ON TIGERS IN CHINA
I read this quite some years ago and posted a few scans in AVA. Marco Polo wrote tigers in northern China, larger than the 'lions of Babylon' (he most probably referred to tigers), were used to hunt all kinds of mammals. On the map below, you can see he traveled from the northeastern part of China all the way to the southwest. As a result of wars, tigers and other big predators had multiplied in this region to such an extent that they posed a real threat to travellers. This is why they had to sleep in cities en this is why cities had walls. MAN-EATERS In those days, tigers were found in many elevated and barren regions with few large ungulates. Although this most probably was the reason they turned to humans, it also was a fact tigers had a bad reputation in other parts of China. Many of those living in the region just south of the Chinese Wall in the northeast hunted humans. Same for Manchurian tigers (read May Taylor's book on the Jankowski's). In the twentieth century, man-eaters were still common in many parts of southern China. Caldwell wrote that one community in the early twenties of the last century had lost sixty people (...) in a few weeks only (H.R. Caldwell, 'Blue Tiger', pp. 72). Some man-eaters appeared to be black, whereas others were blue. Here's a normal coloured tiger Caldwell shot:  *This image is copyright of its original author And here's one of the famous 'blue tigers':  *This image is copyright of its original author MOUNTAIN CATS If we use the map posted by Tigerluver and add the two below (from the seventies of the last century), it is clear that tigers in China inhabited elevated regions. As the southeastern part of China was one of the few regions were tigers survived the last big eruption (the Toba eruption, about 73 000 years ago), one could conclude that modern tigers started out as mountain cats and be right:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author In the Tierpark Berlin, I watched the cats for a long time. They have lions, jaguars, Java leopards, snow leopards, cougars, Sumatra tigers, Indochina tigers and a few Amurs. Lions, jaguars and leopards, in my eyes, were somewhat different from the cougars (a small cat, but as large as most leopards, if not larger) and the tigers. I saw slightly bulkier bodies, a heavier way of moving and less muscular limbs. The attitude also was a bit different. Compared to them, snow leopards, Montana cougars and tigers were more muscular in the limbs and more athletic in general. They were dancing all the time, whereas the others seemed to be a bit sluggish and less active. Not saying one is more powerful or faster or whatever than the other (as they very much compare in most aspects), but cougars and tigers in particular definitely move in a different way and also seem faster and more alert. Huntingwise, cougars probably top the performance list (relatives). The other cats also are capable of remarkable feats, but cougars, like tigers, could do it more often. One often reads cougars are inferior to the more solid and heavier jaguar, but the Montana cougar I saw could be (more than) a match for the jaguar. This is also what Indians told me in Surinam and French Guyana. Not doubting the power of the jaguar here, but ability can be expressed in different ways. Breaking skulls is one, but I wouldn't underestimate speed. Before the jaguar is awake and geered up, he could have lost his coat. Remember the cougars in that part of South America as as small as they get. SUBSPECIES AND MANAGERS Anyhow. The article posted by Tigerluver was interesting. If we look at the map in the article he posted and add the info on size we have, the conclusion is China tigers, most probably, were as diverse as it gets. The northeast had (and has) Amur tigers, whereas the northwest might have been Panthera tigris virgata. I don't know if Yunnan tigers and those further west were Panthera tigris tigris (don't think so) or Panthera tigris corbetti, but there is, in my eyes, no doubt that those in central parts of China were different from those in the southeast (Panthera tigris amoyensis). Although all tigers are Panthera tigris, local conditions definitely had an effect. Local adaptions shouldn't be dismissed because they create confusion for managers or biologists. One could also turn it round and say the fact they apparantly quickly adapt to local conditions enabled biologists to use a few basics to get to distinctions. The ideas of Kitchener are sound, but it shouldn't result in a loss of information. We should study a few thousands skulls first. If I saw distinct differences, others no doubt will confirm. Tigers in China inhabited very distinct sub-regions. New genes undoubtedly were introduced at regular intervals when humans were unable to prevent young males from dispersing, but everything I know says there were distinct local differences.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
  (04-13-2015, 09:05 AM)Kingtheropod Wrote:GuateGojira\ dateline='\'1428894918' Wrote: To be sincere, I think that the email of Dr Jhala is not giving "average" figures but "maximum" figures known by him. After all, I heavily doubt that modern Indian lions average 180 kg or male tigers average 240 kg (the same for females). For me, all the figures look like maximum figures. 
I'm looking for the link but I saw a FB post on the Large male Panna Tiger that was reintroduced and had a lenght of 9'2'' do any of you know what article Im talking about?
Hopefully we can find it and get more info on that tiger. I'll keep you updated as well.. Edit: I found it  *This image is copyright of its original author A tiger captured from the Central Agriculture Engineering Institute, Bhopal, has been released into the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR). The tiger, named ‘Bahubali’ by the park authorities owing to its massive size, has been assigned the call sign T 7 and radio-collared before being released on Tuesday evening. Chief conservator of forests (CCF) R Sreeniwas Murthy said that the tiger was set free at Kudia Seha within the core area of the reserve after being fitted with a satellite-based radio collar for constant monitoring. He added that Bahubali is aged around 5 years, measures 9 feet 2 inches and is currently the biggest tiger in Panna Tiger Reserve. The area where T 7 was released was selected on the basis of presence of other tigers and prey base. The decision to shift the tiger to the Panna national park was taken to add to the gene pool available there. Spread over 542 sq km in Panna and Chhatarpur districts, PTR had lost all its felines to poaching four years back, but it now boasts 32 big cats, thanks to the tiger reintroduction programme. All tigers born in Panna after the reintroduction programme that commenced in 2009 can trace their ancestry to T 3, a male tiger brought from Pench Tiger Reserve. 
Great found @Pckts tfs! Panna is a beautiful place. Great to see they reitroduce animals.
Also @GuateGojira do You have information about the two Kanha tigers being weighed, and is there anyone we can contact about the induviduvals weighed would be so cool if that was Konda. I have spoken with trackers in Kanha and they said Munna is notably bigger than Konda, that sure would tell a tale about a prime Munna's weight! 
TIGERS IN NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL - PART I
a - Introduction A year ago or so, I posted on 'Jungle trails in northern India' (Sir John Hewett, London, 1938). The posts included a few tables I had made. Guate also made a table with measurements and weights and got to different conclusions. A bit strange. For this reason, I decided to give it another try. In the last weeks, I read Hewett's book again and made new tables. Almost a year ago, I bought 'Big game shooting in Nepal' (A.E. Smythies, Calcutta, 1942). This book is much sought after and, for this reason, very expensive (I paid hundreds of dollars for it). Initially, I wanted to use it for the book I'm writing, but later I changed my mind. The reason is the book of Smythies, loaded with information, is out of print, expensive and difficult to find. Not many of those interested will get a chance to read it, that is. Not good. The internet should be a place to share information. This will allow those interested in a certain topic to read, learn and communicate about things of interest. Sharing information should result in more knowledge for all, irrespective of status, age and money too. This is what was intended and this is how it will be. At least, in this forum. Some of you could take it for granted, but it isn't. Not anymore. Ask Snowdon. He sacrificed a career because he wanted to inform the public (which was much appreciated), knowing there would be consequences. There were. As far as I know, he's still in Moscow, Russia. Some of you may remember that the book of Smythies was discussed some time ago. WaveRiders wasn't too impressed. Although I agree with most of the points he made, it can't be denied that the book has a lot of information on the length of tigers in Nepal. I made a few tables and they will be posted. Here's a scan of the title page:  *This image is copyright of its original author
That is excellent @peter, thanks for share it.
About Hewett, I did not found different results, it was with Cooch Behar that we get different averages, with Hewett I found the same, because I focused only in the weights and not too much in length. Besides, we most remember that I don't have the book and I only used the scans of BoldChamp and the few images that I found in Google Books.  I am excited to see which results do you found in the book of Smythies. I am not agree with Waveriders, the book seems reliable and the form of writing was the typical in those days.
TIGERS IN NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL - PART II
b - On Smythies and the method used to measure tigers Before starting on the book, it wouldn't be superfluous to say that A.E. Smythies, before he was appointed Forest Advisor to the Nepal Government by the Maharajah of Nepal, was Chief Conservator of Forests, U.P. This means that he has to be regarded as an authority. As all Indian forest officers, Smythies was very interested in shikar and tigers (Preface, pp. v). As to the criticism of WaveRiders. Although I agree that the general attitude regarding the one who appointed him as Forest Advisor (the Maharajah of Nepal) was somewhat servile, the book is interesting. As Forest Advisor, Smythies had the opportunity to read the shikar diaries of the Maharajah. He thought they should be published. Those of us interested in tigers no doubt are glad they were. WaveRiders also wrote the information on measurements has to be taken with care, because Smythies was not present when the tigers were measured. This means the book can't be classified as a primary source. I agree, but it also is a fact that the book is entirely based on the diaries of someone who was there (the Maharajah of Nepal). Furthermore, the one in charge of shikar (General Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana) told Smythies that the measurements " ... are really accurate and correct. Inaccuracies, exaggerations, and insincere flattery have been scrupulously avoided ... " (pp. vi). Gen. Shumshere Jung Bahadur was in charge of shikar on all shoots mentioned in the book (Appendix I, pp. 163-166). This means that he was responsable for the measurements. As many of those invited for the shoot were well-known people with a reputation to lose, one has to assume that the measurements were taken with care. This was underlined more than once: " ... The figures (Smythies was referring to the measurements of an extra-large tiger) above, which are scrupulously accurate in every way (being summarised from His Highness's shikar diary, in which no exaggeration is possible, as it is written under his personal direction) ... " (pp. 36). " ... All measurements recorded in this book are round the curves, from the nose to the tip of the tail, with the head stretched out and are absolutely accurate ... " (pp. 88). The tigers shot were photographed and measured immediately after death: " ... After a tremendous shikar, 4 tigers were laid out, and everyone dismounted from the elephants to take measurements and photographs as usual ... " (pp. 136). c - On the validity of the measurements It is known that conditions in Nepal suit tigers and that Nepal produces large tigers. The only two wild male tigers who bottomed a 600-pound scale were Nepal tigers. A century ago, it wasn't much different. Nepal was famous for its tigers in those days as well. In quite many regions, they were not hunted at all. One needed a special permit from the Maharajah. Apart from a few exceptions (Hewett participated in one of them), the only one who hunted tigers in Nepal was the Maharajah and he had all the help one can get: very experienced trackers and shikari's, hundreds (...) of trained elephants and almost pristine conditions in many regions. For these reasons, I expected to find information on extra-large tigers in the book of Smythies. Extra-large in my dictionary would be 11 feet 'over curves' in total length and about 650 pounds empty or a bit over. I was close. The longest and heaviest male was 10.9 'over curves' in total length and 705 pounds. The Maharajah thought there was a 11-footer, but this wily old male never was at home when the Maharajah went after him. Nepal tigers were measured round the curves and it was done immediately after death. As accurate as in northern India? My guess is yes, as those who wrote about measurements in northern India were invited by the Maharajah of Nepal more than once and they no doubt talked about the methods the measure a big cat. The Maharajah of Nepal often invited well-known people and the last thing they would have wanted was gossip about 11-inch tapes and 12-foot tigers at parties. Reputations really counted in those days. After reading the book more than once, I think it is very likely that the measurements are accurate. This, of course, is an opinion only. What is the real length of a tiger who taped 10.9 'over curves' in total length? Those who wrote about the value of curve-measurements in northern India thought the difference was 2-5 inches. Two for a small female and 5 for a large male then? Not quite. When he compared the records of different hunters, Sir John Hewett concluded: " ... These measurements (he was referring to measurements of extra-large male tigers shot in different parts of British India) were, I believe, all taken over the curves, and correspond very closely to those taken by Dunbar-Brander and others, allowing for two or three inches of difference, between pegs ... " (the 2008 Natraj Publishers reprint of 'Jungle trails in northern India', J. Hewett, pp. 70). So Hewett, based on a lot of experience, thought that the difference between both methods was about 2-3 inches for large male tigers. I can hear you say that the longest male tiger shot in Cooch Behar, 10.5 'over curves', was 7 inches shorter when he was measured 'between pegs' (9.10). This is true. I know of more examples in which the difference between both methods in extra-long male tigers was about 7 inches. But Cooch Behar is not northern India and the method used most ('over curves') was applied in different ways (this is the problem with this method). One also has to remember that the average difference between both methods in Cooch Behar was 5,45 inches (13,84 cm.) in male tigers (n=10). If tigers in northwest India, as Hewett stated time and again, were more accurately measured than in other regions (like Cooch Behar), chances are he could have been close in his assessment (2-3 inches in male tigers). In his book 'Jungle trails in northern India' published in 1938 (I have the reprint published by Natraj Publishers in 2008), Hewett wrote " ... The number that I have actually seen shot myself is 247 ... " (pp. 66). As to accuracy: " ... I was taught by Mr. MacDonald to measure the body round the curves from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail with a Chesterman's tape measure such as was always used in India in Public Works Department measurements. The measurement of the tiger was with him a matter of some ceremony, and was carried out with extreme accuracy before the tiger was padded ... " (pp. 67). Hewett, therefore, was loaded with experience and has to be taken very seriously. How get to a conclusion? I propose to assume that tigers in northern India were measured in a very strict way 'over curves'. This would result in a slight difference between both methods. For Hewett, the 10.9 tiger in Nepal would have been 10.6-10.7 'between pegs'. I assume that the method used in northern India was used in Nepal as well. Smythies, like Hewett (both hunted tigers in the U.P., which is very close to Nepal), more than once emphasized the importance of 'accuracy' in his book. Both have been in Nepal and Smythies, more than once, underlined that tigers in Nepal were accurately measured. For me, as stated before (see above), this is good enough. There's also something else to consider. Based on the information I have, I expect the longest tigers to max out at 10.6-10.8 'between pegs' in India and Nepal. Following the conclusions of Hewett, the difference between both methods in Nepal could have been 2-5 inches in male tigers in Nepal. This means that the 10.9 tiger could have been 10.4-10.7 'between pegs'. In order to prevent a debate, I propose 10.4 'between pegs' for now, maybe an inch more or less. This means he was a bit longer than the Sauraha tiger, who bottomed a 600-pound scale the last time he was weighed (when he was wearing a collar). As to the enormous weight (705 lbs. or 319,79 kg.). This is what is written about the giant tiger in the book of Smythies: " ... No less than nine kills had been reported from different places around the camp, a plethora on a marching day when all the elephants had been employed in moving camp (which was moved that day). General Kaiser organised a ring of only 500 yards away from the camp, on the further side of the Rapti, and successfully enclosed a tiger. This proved to be yet another enormous fighting tiger, who on being wounded 'sprang with one terrible bound towards the howdah, but his progress was stopped in mid-air by a shot from the Maharajah'. A superb and realistic painting of this scene hangs to-day in the great Durbar Hall in Kathmandu, which is reproduced in plate 23 in this book. This was the largest tiger His Highness has ever shot, 10 feet 9 inches, and probably one of the half dozen largest that ever have been shot since correct measurements started (all measurements recorded in this book are round the curves, from the nose to the tip of the tail, with the head stretched out and are absolutely accurate) ... " (pp. 88). So the tiger was enclosed in the ring when all elephants were used to move camp. My guess is he most probably wasn't gorged, as this would have prevented him jumping the howdah (a vertical distance of 15-16 feet). Although I do not doubt that some will deduct a 100 pounds from this giant, my take is it is would have been much less for the reason mentioned. For me, the information on the 10.9 tiger adds up. We know long tigers usually are much heavier than short tigers and this tiger was both long and heavy. In a straight line, he was well over 10 feet in total length. We also know he was the largest the Maharajah ever shot. Anything else on reliability? Yes. I will post a table of the Nepal average. It's entirely based on the book of Smythies and fits the information I have. Nepal tigers were (and most probably still are) longer than anywhere else, although Amur tigers could compare (unclear). We also know that exceptional males can reach and even exceed 600 pounds today. I expected 650 empty or a bit more for the heaviest shot in a time when there were much more tigers and that's what we got. One more remark. All in all, 433 tigers were shot between 1933-1939. I have 78 records of adult tigers, which is about 18% of all tigers shot. Most of the others shot were immature animals, but I do not doubt that young adults were omitted as well. This means the tables I made are based on the 78 largest animals (males and females). This no doubt will result in a slightly higher average, but one has to remember that the averages of other regions, for the same reason, also will be somewhat higher. Hunters usually tend to report on the most impressive animals. However. I have to admit that the averages 'over curves' more or less compare to the averages 'between pegs' (northern India and Nepal). d - African lions in Nepal? Yes: " ... At this time also a lion and a lioness from the Nepal Zoo were released in the forests (...), possibly to add variety in this big game paradise. However a lion bred in a zoo would have no chance against a jungle tiger, and as recorded later in this chapter, this pair turned into atrocious cattle-killers and steps were taken to kill them ... " (pp. 108). " ... It is impossible, and would be rather boring, to record in detail all the incidents of this amazing shoot, so we will skip a week and go on to February 23 (1938). Many reports had been coming from the villagers of damage and destruction to their herds of cattle by two new and ferocious animals, which, from the descriptions given, were clearly the two African lions that had been released in the valley a month before. His Highness therefore decided to kill them, or they might turn into man-eaters in the future. He therefore asked commanding General Bahadur to shoot them, and also to pay to the cattle owners the price of all cattle killed by them. General Bahadur killed the male with two shots, possibly the only occasion on record where African lions have been shot in Indian jungles. It measured 8 feet 4 inches, a relatively small beast compared to the mighty tigers of this tract (Chitawan). The lioness however escaped but was shot a few days later. She was naturally safe from the attacks of male tigers, and it would have been interesting to see if cross-bred 'tigons' ever appeared in Chitawan, which have at times been born in Indian zoos. But it would have been a dangerous experiment, as she was clearly only fit to kill cattle ... " (pp. 115). This happened in 1938. For some reason, it was decided to release two captive-bred African lions from the Kathmandu Zoo. Both animals, of course, turned to cattle and were shot after about a month. I think it's best to refrain from comments. e - A plate of the longest and heaviest Nepal tiger shot This is plate 22 with the 10.9 Chitawan tiger who sprang towards the howdah when he was enclosed and shot at (see -c-). Try to imagine a 705-pound tiger going for the howdah (a vertical distance of 15-16 feet). He had to be gorged, some tried. I don't think he was. It's very likely that the plate was based on a photograph. The reason is all animals shot after the 'ring' had been cleared (everything usually was shot) were measured and photographed:  *This image is copyright of its original author The giant above wasn't the only extra-large tiger shot in Nepal. The tiger in the centre below, also shot in Nepal, compared. He must have been very heavy as well. The weight of tigers often is underestimated. I saw it time and again in captive animals and assume it wasn't much different back then. The most likely reason is tigers often are quite long and athletic animals. Symmetry. Other factors, like vertical stripes, no mane and a moderately-sized skull, probably also contribute. As this idea (tigers are long and lanky) apparently stuck in the minds of many, those with experience, like Dunbar Brander, Hewett and Smythies, in their books, underlined that adult wild tigers are muscular and robust animals, not seldom dwarfing the parodies in captivity (tigers, in contrast to lions, often quickly degenerate in captivity). Not saying that lions are not robust (they are), but tigers often are a bit underestimated. Also notice the large male tiger below is empty:  *This image is copyright of its original author One more to underline the point made on length and weight in tigers. This is the Sauraha tiger. At 10.2 'between pegs' (Sunquist) or 'over curves' (Tamang) or 'almost between pegs, but not quite' (I still don't know), he amazed the Sunquists. Fiona, regarding the pugmarks they saw in the dust wrote: " ... size alone told us they belonged to the six-hundred-pound Sauraha tiger ... " ('Tiger Moon', Fiona and Mel Sunquist, 1988, pp. 60). Do you see 600 pounds?  *This image is copyright of its original author Or this one. The 'Killer of men' was significantly larger than the largest Berg had shot (9.7 'between pegs' and 565 pounds). This means that 'The killer of men', who dwarfed that tiger, was at least 600, if not considerably over that mark. Not larger than the large males of today, Copters wrote. I understand. He doesn't look large, but he most definitely was. Berg had plenty of experience with tigers and he never saw one larger than this one. This tiger operated just south of Bhutan (very close to Morang in Nepal, where some males also reached a great size) and had quite a reputation. The horns of the large wild male buffalo's he killed nearly always stuck into the ground ground (...). Talking power. Berg was so impressed, that he decided against killing the tiger:  *This image is copyright of its original author
TIGERS IN NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL - PART III
This post is about the geography and the people of Nepal. In the thirties of the last century, the people of Nepal were deeply religious. This is one of the reasons many animal species survived for so long. Nepal tigers probably are the largest wild big cats today, this although they inhabit unhealthy and hilly regions. What's special about these regions? And what's a 'dun' (where the largest tigers live)? I know those of you interested in measurements and tables will struggle a bit with this post, but my advice is to give it a try. If you succeed, you will understand a bit more about Nepal and the conditions that suit tigers. In order to prevent selection, misunderstandings, interpretations and alleys going nowhere, I decided to use direct quotes only. f - Population " ... The earliest inhabitants were Dravidians ..., whose dialect is still surviving in the plateau of Chota Nagpur and amongst races on the Southern slopes of the Himalayas and the Terai, including Nepal. But these primitive races have been ... enslaved by two waves of invasion, by the Mongolians from the north and the Aryans from the south and west, and have largely disappeared now. The two remaining branches of the population of Nepal are thus: (1) Mongolian or Tibeto-Burman and (2) Indo-Aryan. While the Aryan invaders of India were pouring into India from Iran through the north-western passes - somewhere in the second millenium B.C. - the Mongolian emigrants were pouring in from Tibet through the northern passes, and, roughly speaking, the latter occupied the northern, central and eastern tracts of Nepal, while the former found themselves in the western and southern tracts ... " (pp. 9). " ... At a much later date, there was a further invasion, which has had a predominant influence on present-day Nepal. As a result of the Moghul invasions, a number of high-caste Thakurs and Rajputs, driven out of Rajputhana and Central India, took refuge in the Himalayas, and from these immigrant have descended the present rulers and nobility of Nepal. Thus the family of the Maharajah traces descent back to the Rana family of Udaipur. This invasion, if tradition can be believed, had another and more humble influence on the population of Nepal. The malarious and deadly Terai is inhabited by a race called the Tharus, who are practically immune to malaria ... " (pp. 9). The famous Gurkha battalions of the Indian Army were of Mongolian origin. Two centuries ago Gurkha was a petty kingdom in the Gurung country with a small hill village called Gurkha as capital. In 1742 " ... Prithiwi Narayan Shah became king of this village and surrounding territory, but before he died in 1775 he had conquered the valley of Nepal itself and consolidated his power and expanded his kingdom ... in the east, to the passes of Tibet to the north, to the Terai in the south and far to the west, thus becoming the first king of Nepal ... " (pp. 10). g - The natural history of Nepal " ... The total area is about 54.000 square miles and it stretches about 540 miles in length parallel to the Himalayan axis, and averages about 100 miles in breadth ... " (pp. 12). " ... It is interesting to note that Nepal has within or on its boundaries 26 peaks of over 24,000 feet which include 12 of over 25,000, eight of over 26,000, three over 27,000, and the one and only mountain in the world over 29,000 feet. Such an agglomeration of high peaks makes Nepal unique amongst all the countries of the world. This brief description of the boundaries of Nepal will suffice to explain how natural features and geography have rendered a policy of isolation from the rest of the world. Only on the southern frontier is the country at all accessible, and this frontier is backed by a great belt of dense tropical forest, which runs its whole length, and is intensely malarious for seven or eight months of the year. Behind this Terai belt lies the trackless and equally unhealthy Churia or Siwalik ranges of foothills, behind which, again, is the long range of Mahabharat that forms a further barrier to the hill districts of Nepal ... " (pp. 13). " ... There remains for consideration the 'Mades', a continuous belt along the southern boundaries consisting of three distrinct sub-zones, (1) the Terai proper, (2) the Bhabar, and (3) the Churia and Bhidri 'Mades'. It is these three zones which chiefly concern this book, as it is in them that the tigers, the leopards and the rhino live, and in them therefore all the big game shikar occurs ... " (pp. 15). " ... The Terai is a fertile well-watered alluvial plane, about 250 to 600 feet above sea-level. Originally the Terai was covered with dense forest and was notorious for its unhealthy and malarious climate. But now a large proportion of the whole has been deforested and cleared for cultivation, and the process is still continuing, although there are still large islands and pockets of forest ... in some districts ... " (pp. 15). " ... North of the Terai belt and south of the foot of the hills, approximately from 600 to 1,000 feet above sea-level, lies the Bhabar or, in Nepali, the Charkosya jhari (eight-mile wide forest). Here the Terai alluvium has been overlaid by sand, pebbles and boulders, which during the course of ages have been washed down from the hills by the streams and rivers. The soil is dry, infertile for cultivation, and so porous that even drinking water is usually unobtainable during most periods of the year. It is therefore quite unfit for colonisation, and efforts to create village settlements are foredoomed to failure. An example of such a failure is Amlekhgunj (the terminus of the Nepal Government Railway leading to Kathmandu), which means place of the free, where emancipated slaves were given land and huts, but little or no cultivation survives to-day. The Bhabar is almost as malarious as the Terai, despite its dry nature. Although this eight-mile wide belt is unfit for cultivation, it is ideal for growth of forest trees, and the Bhabar still is, and always will be, forest ... " (pp. 15). " ... North of the Bhabar come the foothills, the Churia Range. This last rampart of the Himalayas rises abruptly from the gently sloping plains to a height of 2,000 to 4,000 feet, tier on tier of wild, broken and uninhabited country, intersected by ravines and streams where tigers and sambhar roam. Near the mouths of the great Himalayan rivers, the Kosi, the Narayani and the Karnali, this range of foothills is composed of enormous river deposits of boulders, pebbles and sand. These, ..., were caught up in the last spasms of Himalayan uplift a few million years ago, to form these unstable hills liable to swift erosion, but in Nepal protected for the most part from such erosion by virgin forest. Where these old river depostis do not exist, and behind them on the north where they do exist, is found a range of sandstone hills, more stable, more fertile, with still more luxurious forest vegetation. Between these two ranges are found the 'duns', the largest and most famous of which is the Chitawan big game preserve in the Rapti valley ... " (pp. 15-16). A 'Dun' is " ... a fertile, but usually malarious land-locked valley between the lower Himalayas and the outer Siwaliks (cf. Dehra Dun, Patli Dun and many others). This Churia Range is completely uninhabited by man, clothed with primeval forests of sal and pine and bhabar (or sabai) grass, a wild medley of broken ground, with steep or precipitous slopes and dry, pebbly stream beds bordered with other grasses, the ultimate home of tiger, leopard, wild dog, and the deer - sambhar, chital, barking deer - on which they prey and live ... " (pp. 81). h - Summary The things to remember are geographical and political isolation, religion, and the three zones that have tigers (the Terai, the Bhabar and the Churia Range). When you read about tigers and the Terai, you now know that they do not mean the Terai proper (as cultivated), but the Bhabar and the Churia Range. As you made it to here, I thought of a fitting reward. This is Bob Hoskins in Nepal. His elephant, by the way, was warned, not attacked, but it was a bit much for poor Bob. Watch the footage between the male tiger and his cubs: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pqhqx Here's a few nice photographs: http://www.neilhcarter.com/tigers-in-nepal.html And here, to finish the post, is a bit more on a recent reserve expansion: http://news.mongabay.com/2015/09/big-reserve-expansion-gives-tigers-a-boost-in-nepal/
TIGERS IN NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL - PART IV
i - Evolution of big game shikar in Nepal Before the days of Maharajah Jung Bahadur, various ways were used to hunt tigers. When the Maharajah Jung Bahadur became Prime Minister in 1903, he indulged in his passion for big game hunting. He made many cold weather shikar trips to the Terai and is said to have killed over 550 tigers. In the first years, things were a bit slow: " ... At first shikar methods were simple and primitive. Wherever Jung Bahadur camped, inquiries were made from the local villagers regarding recent kills, or where tigers had been seen or heard, and on such uncertain khabbar an area was beaten by elephants in the hope that the tiger might be inside. In those days, the number of tame elephants in Nepal was enormous, and Jung Bahadur frequently had as many as 700 for his shikar. But the uncertain methods of locating tigers did not at first produce very good results. Later Jung Bahadur created a special service of 120 shikaris, whose duty it was to find fresh tiger tracks and other signs, to tie up kills (goats at first and later young buffalo calves), and quickly send in news of any kills. It was Jung Bahadur who first evolved and developed the ring method, which more recently has been improved and supplemented by His Highness the present Maharajah ... " (pp. 38). j - The 'Ring' method " ... Before attempting to describe His Highness's shooting experiences, it will help the reader to visualise the scene if a description is first given of the method almost invariably used in all big shoots in Nepal, the famous and unique 'Ring'. This method is used only in Nepal, where it has been brought to an art, the highest pitch of perfection and a most deadly method of killing all big game. There is in fact no other country in the world where the necessary factors for the 'Ring' shoot exists, the enormous stud of shikar elephants, the trained experience and the skill of their mahouts and the shikari's, the tremendous stretches of Terai forests, and the wonderful stock of tiger and rhino. The natural home of the tiger is the forest-clad foothills of the Churia (Siwalik) range of the Himalayas, with the enclosed duns and valleys and the adjoining forests of the flatter Terai. This great belt of tiger country stretches the whole length of Nepal, a distance of nearly 550 miles on the map, and for more than half the year it is deadly to man owing to the malignant Terai malaria. But from December to March, it is a perfect paradise, with a glorious climate, wonderful scenery, and always to the north the incredible panorama of the eternal snows towering into the sky. In this superb setting occur the big Nepal shoots. A wonderful organisation is employed to ensure success. For weeks before the shoot commences, rough but serviceable motor roads and temporary bridges are constructed radiating out from the various jungle camps. All the jungle paths and streams and sandy river beds are examined to see where the tigers are, for in such places they leave their footmarks. A day or two before the shoot starts, young buffalo calves are tied up as bait, in scores of even hundreds, on every likely route a tiger may take. There are seven or eight groups of regularly appointed shikaris, each consisting of an officer (subedar), ten or twelve subordinates, and two mounted soldiers for taking messages. Every group of shikaris has ten to fifteen buffal ocalves (padahs) for tying up at suitable places. They live in temporary sheds in the jungle, primitive huts of wooden poles, leaves, and jungle grasses fastened with stands of creepers, which they quickly erect with their kukris from the abundant material all around. Between them the various groups cover the whole tract of forest for miles around the camp ... " (pp. 38). This is a typical Nepal jungle camp:  *This image is copyright of its original author " ... At dawn the sikaris go out and examine the padahs, tied out the previous evening. If or when one has been killed, they carefully examine pugmarks ... to see if it is a big tiger or small, or one or several. They examine the drag and the direction taken. They then quietly proceed on foot and make a large circle of a quarter to a half mile diameter, demarcating the circumference with chipped stems and grass roots as they go and are very careful to see that the drag has not gone beyond the circle. If it has, they make another one, as they must have the circle enclosing the end of the drag. This is called 'cutting the circle by the shikaris, and the final circle makes the future 'Ring' ... " (pp. 38). k - When the 'Ring' has a tiger " ... Meanwhile, ..., a special messenger mounts his horse and galopps off to bring the khabbar. Sometimes motor cars are parked at central spots to accelerate the delivery of the news, and sometimes even a telephone line has been prepared and operators engaged to flash messages to the camp. Within a very short time the news has reached the camp from all directions and where there are kills, and the day's plan of campaign is discussed and settled. Immediately a great string of 200 or 300 elephants move off in single file to the first kill, a few with howdahs, the majority with pads. The shooting party follow at leisure in cars as far as possible, and then on pad elephants. The tiger or tigers have been approximately located by the shikaris from the direction of the drag, the nature of the cover for lying up, and the process of cutting the circle as already described. When the elephants arrive, they divide into two parties, which proceed very quietly in single file right and left along the line of the cut circle - and it is astonishing how quietly an elephant of line of elephants can move through the jungle. The rear elephants gradually drop out to take their stations at regular intervals, and finally the two leading elephants meet, and the word is passed down both sides that the circuit is completed, 'lam pugyo'. Then the order 'Mudi phira' - turn the heads inward - is passed down. The shooting party mount the elephants, and the whole circle now move inward, crushing the grasses and shrubs, and the men on their backs shouting and whistling to drive the tiger towards the centre. The circumference of the circle of the elephants gets smaller, until finally it is less than half a mile round, and the elephants get closer and closer until they are almost touching, and the tiger is surrounded by a solid wall of elephants. Then the order "Lam-tham' - stop the line - is shouted out, and the ring is complete ... " (pp. 41). Here's a photograph of the wall of elephants:  *This image is copyright of its original author l - Confronting the tiger(s) " ... The stauncher elephants then move into the ring. Glimpses of one or more slinking forms are seen in the grass and undergrowth, when suddenly a tiger breaks cover and charges with a roar, to be met by shots from the rifle, or shouts and missiles if he charges the ring. It is the moment of climax of a culminating excitement. Backwards and forwards he dashes striving to find an escape, to a pandemonium of men shouting and elephants trumpeting, grumbling and gurgling, thumping on the ground, and occasionally, when directly charged turning tail and bolting in terror. It is necessary to emphasise that a tiger is not normally a dangerous animal, and does not attack an elephant or a man, but once he feels cornered, he becomes a fighting mass of diabolical fury, utterly fearless of man or elephant, whom he attacks in his mad rage without a moment's hesitation. He has been known to climb a tree and hurl a (lady) shikari out of a high machan, he had been known to leap a height of 15 or 16 feet into a tall howdah and more often than not a tiger will try to break through a Ring by charging home on an elephant unless he is killed or crippled first by a well-directed shot ... " (pp. 41-42). This is a tiger snarling (top) and preparing an attack (bottom):  *This image is copyright of its original author m - The tiger attacks " ... It must also be realised that the Nepal Terai jungles, with a fertile soil and rainfall of 100 inches, are either gigantic grass growth, frequently the height of a howday, or are a dense forest of trees, matted together with great climbers, and a thick undergrowth of shrubs and shade-bearing plants, in which, if an elephant bolts, it is almost inevitable that howdah and rider and mahout and everything on the elephant's back will be swept with a crash to the ground by a thick branch or the loop of a tough timber. In either case it is extremely difficult to see a tiger at all until the area has been well trampled, by which time, naturally, the tiger or tigers are desperate and in a highly dangerous condition. 'It is no sport for bad shots, hasty excitable people, or those with no stomach for danger. Even the most blasé hunter is likely to experience for a second or two a sudden spasm of fear when he first hears the blood-curling roar of an infuriated tiger, and sees the great striped body launched in its charge, a thunderbolt of death and ander in mid-air. It is one of the most terrific sights in the world'. Imagine what it must be like when, as frequently happens in the rings in Nepal, not one but four or five and, once or twice, six tigers have been trapped simultaneously in one ring! The danger and heart-bursting excitement may continue for hours, until a succession of well-placed shots finally brings the thrill and nerve-tension to an end. This was the method used in many famous shoots in the days of Maharaja Jung Bahadure and Chandra Shumshere, including the famous shoot for His Majesty the King Emperor George V in 1911, and for the Prince of Wales ... in 1921 ... " (pp. 43). Here are a few photographs of the visit of King George V, taken in 1911. The quality is amazing. As for the tigers. Remember most of the animals shot were immature. Some had an extended stomach, but others, like the big tiger in the last photograph, seemed empty. Also notice the differences between the tigers and the Himalayan black bears. Not all animals in the famous 'Ring' were shot. Some were captured and shipped to zoos:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author n - Improvements of the 'Ring' method " ... Maharajah Joodha Shumshere has during the last 9 years evolved and introduced considerable improvements and innovations which will now be indicated ... " (pp. 43). " ... Since Jung Bahadur's days, the number of elephants available has been considerably reduced, and it is a problem how to enclose and keep enclosed several tigers in several localities, until the shikar starts. His Highness evolved an ingenious solution of this problem. The available elephants are sent to the nearest or most convenient locality, and ring the tiger. When he has been ringed, long strips of white cloth are fixed up on small posts or trees, just in front of the ring of elephants, thus making a ring ... of white cloth, which - as experience has proved - is by itself sufficient to keep the tiger within the ring ... A few elephants are left to keep watch, and the rest go off to carry out the same operation at the next locality, and so on. It thus becomes possible to hunt several tigers or groups of tigers in a single day with a limited number of elephants, which otherwise would be impossible. Another innovation the Maharaja has introduced shortens the period of hunting inside the ring and adds greatly to the thrill and excitement of the shikar, but it also demands a high standard of shooting. Formerly it was the custom for the Maharaja (or some favoured guest who was to shoot the tiger) to wait stationary at one point just inside the ring, while other elephants trampled the undergrowth and beat inside the ring trying to drive the tiger to soem other part of the ring, which occasionally in his fury he charged and broke, thus making good his escape. But now the Maharaja does not wait for this. He dispenses with the beating to a fixed point, and instead himself invariably advances into the ring on his howdah elephant, supported by an elephant on either side and 3 or 4 elephants forming a skirmishing line in front. As soon as the tiger is located and starts to move, the skirmishing line withdraws, leaving the Maharaja to face and finish off the quarry alone! By these innovations and improvements the tempo of big game shooting has been greatly accelerated, and this has enabled some phenomenal daily bags of big game to be obtained on the Maharaja's shoots, not only tiger but also bear and the great Indian rhinoceros ... " (pp. 44). o - Why tigers were not exterminated in Nepal " ... In Nepal, ..., although the stock of tigers has no doubt been recuded appreciably in the past decade ..., extermination is safeguarded by two factors. One is the great expanse of broken hill forests, where the ring method cannot be used, which forms a natural sanctuary and breeding ground for tiger. The other is that with tiger country stretching along the foot of the hills for 550 miles, there is such a vast track to visit that the Maharaja can have shoots with the ring method without frequent visits to any one locality. It must of course be realised that no tiger, rhino, or buffalo may be shot anywhere in Nepal without the Maharaja's special permission ... " (pp. 45).
Excellent post @peter. It was really informative to read about the habitats in Nepal, and it is impressive to confirm that the area described by Smythies is in fact the same Chitwan of modern days.
If you don't mine, I would like to add an "appendix" like post, showing how are the "modern" method to capture tigers, which is based in the one described so detailed by Smythies. Again, excellent posts, I like very much to see all the data available in a book, not only size, but also methods, habitat, culture and the people in the area. I am impressed by the last picture, that tiger with the king George V is very large and remind me the Sauraha male in size and seems slightly smaller than the giant of 705 lb, described by Smythies. It is also interesting that this large animal had a flat belly, which means that it was not baited, or if it was, it had not ate much. Some of the animals looks definitely baited but others are flat, which means that not all the tigers were full of beef.
TIGERS IN NORTHERN INDIA AND NEPAL - PART V
p - Habits of some wild animals Before he turned to the shoots, Smythies described the habits of some of the animals. He no doubt based his observations on personal experience. Himalayan black bears were omitted, because they were not considered carnivores. Smythies, like many others who hunted in northern India, didn't like them. The reason is they often were unpredictable, quarrelsome (see below) and dangerous, shooting first in most cases. p1 - The tiger " ... The average tiger, lord of the jungle, is neither crual nor savage; like man, he kills for food, but, unlike man, he does not kill wantonly for sport. When he kills, he kills efficiently and almost instantaneously, and does not gloat over the agony of his victims. Having nothing to fear in the forest, he is completely fearless, but he does recognise man as an overlord, and when met by chance on a jungle path he politely turns aside and gives the right-of-way. This makes a chance encounter with a tiger a positive pleasure, one of the chief pleasures of a jungle life. (It is very different with the stupid quarrelsome bear, who, very often, does not politely turn aside and give the right-of-way.) There are, of course, exceptions. An old and mangy tiger with decayed teeth or some physical defects, which cannot kill jungle animals, may turn cattle-killer, and then man-killer, and become a terror to a dozen jungle villages. A tigress with young cubs will first growl a warning and then attack and drive off any man or a party of men blundering near her young family. A hungry tiger, enjoying a succulent meal of venison or pork, will not willingly depart without protest. These exceptions do not disprove the general rule that the average chance-met and undisturbed tiger in the jungle is really a welcome, interesting, and friendly acquaintance, and not a source of fear or danger to man. But doubtless the average stranger to jungle life will not believe this. In this book, however, this aspect of a tiger is not very evident, so it is the more necessary to mention it. When, however, a tiger is hunted and chivied and chased, he becomes annoyed. If he can find no way of escape, he becomes really angry. When cornered and wounded, his armament of claws and teeth, his tremendous energy and power, his superb pluck and fearlessness, combine to make him the most terrifying and the most dangerous animal of all the jungles. This is the view that is presented again and again in this book, which follows inevitably from the method of the Maharaja's shikar. But it is an abnormal view, as abnormal as the view the author once had of a tiger climbing a tall tree to knock his wife out of her high machan, and does not represent the typical live-and-let-live attitude of a tiger's life. A Terai tiger, on the whole, has a grand time. He is so perfectly suited to his environment that he has no difficulty (unless diseased or maimed) in obtaining abundance of food and keeping in splendid condition. His tremendous shoulders and bulging muscles are in striking contrast to the unavoidable parodies of tigers in zoos all the world over, which do not cover ten of fifteen miles a night, nor break the great neck of a buffalo or sambhar stag. When about one year old, he leaves his mother and family and successfully fends for himself, in due course picking up a mate. The act of breeding by wild tigers has very rarely been actually seen, but has more often been heard, as it characterised by an appalling amount of noise. A tiger will often stay with his mate for years, successfully raising one family of cubs after another. If the male cubs do not leave when they should, sometimes trouble arises. The author knew a big tiger and tigress who lived together for seven years, and twice in that period the father killed one of his sons when about seven feet long - probably for becoming obstreperous with his mother. In each case there was not a mark on the cub's body, except tooth marks on the head, and the skull crushed and cracked like a walnut! Such is the strength of a big tiger's jaws ... " (pp. 22-23). Here's a tigress from Corbett (close to Nepal):  *This image is copyright of its original author p2 - The leopard " ... Someone once wrote that the tiger is a gentleman, but the leopard is a bounder, a statement which is very largely correct. The dog-snatching leopard of hill stations and cantonments is a universal and unavoidable evil of Himalayan sanatoria. So is the goat and cow-killing leopard of jungle and hill villages. When he turns to man-killing he is a perfect terror. Where tigers abound, leopards are scarce, and vice versa. As tigers increase or decrease, leopards show a corresponding decrease or increase, and generally speaking leopards shun the vicinity of tigers. It is remarkable that on several occasions in the Maharaja's shoots, one ring should have enclosed both a tiger and a leopard. Leopards are beautiful tree-climbers and very arboreal, and, as recorded elsewhere in this book, quite a number have been shot by the Maharaja up trees. Several cases are known of a leopard being treed by a pack of wild dogs. It is also quite common for a leopard to pull his kill up onto a tree. The leopard excels even the tiger in its power to make itself invisible, and to move silently as a shadow. Sitting up in a quiet machan over a kill, one usually sees and/or hears a tiger approaching some way off, but a leopard - materialising out of thin air - is suddenly there, with no sound or sign how it arrived. In the ring shoots of Nepal, leopards sometimes manage to sneak out unseen, but a tiger never does. It is interesting to see leopards hunting in couples, exhibiting team work. On several occasions a leopard has been seen lying concealed and motionless on the horizontal branch of a tree, while its mate manoevres about on the ground, trying to drive or frighten a sambhar hind or a herd of chital under that particular tree. And, reversing the position, a leopard has been seen climbing about on trees laden with numerous brown monkeys, trying to drive one or two to make a hasty dash from one tree to another along the ground where the leopard's mate was lying concealed, hoping to catch one on route ... " (pp. 25-26). p3 - The wild dog " ... The only other carnivorous animal of any importance in the foothill forests is the wild dog. The size of a collie, and as red as fox, the wild dog usually hunts in small packs of six to ten - not in hundreds as Kipling described in the jungle books. The method employed by a pack in killing their prey is, from the human point of view, altogether abominable. They are quite tireless and hunt their prospective kill ... for miles, in the end usually driving it into an open stream bed. The author once disturbed a pack in a stony river bed which had just brought down a sambhar hind. It was still alive, the flanks were bleeding from a score of bites and both eyes had been bitten out. But for the interruption, the pack would have started to eat it, helpless but still alive ... " (pp. 26). Animals hunted by wild dogs quite often take to rivers to escape. Wild dogs, however, are good swimmers:  *This image is copyright of its original author p4 - Jungle life " ... It is emphatically true, as Champion has pointed out, that one is infinitely safer walking in the Terai jungles than in the streets of London. There are dangers, very considerable dangers, but not the sort the average stranger recognises, and against which arms and munitions are useless; for example, wild bees and the anopheles mosquito and unboiled drinking water. These are the dangers the experienced jungle-dweller worries about, not the carnivora, pachyderms and snakes ... " (pp. 20). p5 - Rhinos " ... An extraordinary feature of rhinos is their behaviour towards a padah tied up as a bait for a tiger. A male musth rhino will attack it and kill it; a female rhino, on the other hand, shows a strong protective reaction, and will stay by or near the little padah. Should a tiger make his appearance during the night, she scares him away and will not allow him to make a kill ... " (pp. 28-29). q - Tigers and bears in a 'Ring' The 'rings' described in the previous chapter sometimes had a circumference of half a mile. When the elephants closed the ring, the hunters not seldom found animals of different species close together. Tigers and Himalayan black bears have been found in the same ring more than once and a few disputes were witnessed and described. q1 - Chitawan (Jhawani camp, February 24, 1938) " ... When making a ring round a kill about a mile from camp, it was noticed that a tiger and a big black Himalayan black bear were enclosed, and a messenger carried the news back to camp. Soon after the beating elephants started their operations, an appalling uproar started in the undergrowth in the middle of the ring; the fierce growling of the tiger mingled with what the diary calls 'khwak khwak' noises of the bear, and it was evident a furious fight was on! To quote the eye-witness account of the diary: 'After several minutes the tiger was seen running away towards the howdah elephant, closely accompanied by two bears which pursued the tiger with their hands striking at its hips, singing their 'khwak khwak' noise, and exhibiting a kind of circus'. As the running fight between the tiger and the 2 bears went blindly forward, they approached His Highness's howdah, and His Highness fired at and killed the bigger bear, which fell dead. But the surviving antagonists appeared too occupied or excited to notice this, and went on quarrelling and fighting in the same manner as if nothing had occurred, and disappeared again in the heavy undergrowth of the ring. Presently they appeared to separate, and the hullabaloo died down in silence. When the beater elephants went in again, first the bear came out and then the tigress and were shot by General Hari and His Highness respectively. They measured 5 feet 6 inches and 9 feet 1 inch. The diary adds: 'This sort of interesting and spectaculair fight between a tiger and bears was never witnessed by any one in this shikar before, so the joy of the whole party knew no bounds' ... " (pp. 115-116). q2 - Morang (close to Biratnagar, January 15 and 16, 1938) " ... January 15 provided a record in that His Highness on the same day shot a tiger, a leopard and a bear! Never before or since has this 'treble' been achieved in Nepal. The tiger and the bear were shot in the same ring, and it is a notable fact that on this shoot this unusual and rare combination happened three times. On the very next day enormous confusion was caused in a ring containing one large tiger and two large bears. One of the latter, when wounded, broke through the ring, tearing down the white cloth, and Colonel Kiran immediately left the ring with 8 elephants and successfully finished him off after an exciting chase. The bear measured 6 feet 6 inches. Meanwhile His Highness was busy with the tiger and the remaining bear. The former attacked an elephant belonging to the Raja of Bainali, 'leapt on his hips, and remained clinging there for about 20 yards even while the elephant was running swiftly'. The total bag for this day was two tigers and two bears ... " (pp. 157). q3 - Morang (same location as above, about a week later, 1938) " ... A few days later a ring was formed round a kill under the most appalling conditions imaginable. It was round a patch of soggy ground where the Terai springs ooze out. The growth of vegetation in such areas in Eastern Nepal must be seen to be believed. Groups of tall dark trees of jamun and bischofia and other water-loving species, locked together by giant creepers, project above dark impenetrable evergreen shrubs, with occasional gaps of dense swamp grasses; a clump or two of thorny cane added to the horrors of the place, and - worst of all - there were patches of the fatal fasan (quicksands) in which the ponderous weight of elephants cause them to become hopelessy bogged. In this nightmare for shikar operations 2 tigers and (once again) a bear were enclosed. The bear first broke cover and, when fired at, retreated again into the impenetrable undergrowth. Then a tiger charged the tusker Jaya Prasad, and started mauling his rump. The elephant became hopelessy stuck in the quicksand, while the tiger was biting and clawing his back, and 'this made the elephant to cry out in agony. The mahout had a hair-breadth escape, and only saved himself by jumping down from the elephant and running for his life. The tiger then jumped to the ground and made for the bushes, in an area of lowland, covered by swamps and bogs, where beating by elephants was almost impossible. The tiger, nevertheless, was forced out on to the eastern side, and charged Moti Prasad, the Banaili elephant, clinging to his tusk, when the elephant boldly threw him towards heaven, and the tiger took cover again'. For two solid hours (4 p.m. tot 6 p.m.) everything possible was done to get the tigers and the bear out of their retreat but without success; during this period the noises of a fight between the bear and a tiger were clearly heard. Even the letting off of squibs and crackers had no effect. Finally in the gloom of the forest, when complete and utter darkness had set in, His Highness called the shoot off, and all returned to camp by the light of torches. The white cloth screen was however left, on the off-chance that it might retain the tigers or the bear. Early next morning General Bahadur went off to examine the spot, and by studying tracks, it appeared that the bear had cleared out during the night, but the tigers were still in the area. Accordingly the elephants again made the ring around the cloth screen, and news was sent to His Highness, who reached the spot at 11-50: 'The beating started again with the same zeal as yesterday, if not more so. The elephants threw broken branches with their trunks where the tiger were concealed, uprooted and pushed down trees towards them, pistols and revolvers were fired, and even fires were lit to provoke the hiding tigers to break cover. After all this, the attempt was at last successful, and a tigress, magnificant for her size and colour, came into view of His Highness, who chose an opportune moment and fired two shots. She fell stone dead with shots through the chest and backbone; to the great satisfaction of His Highness, she measured 9 feet 8 inches, equal to the record for a tigress in Nepal. One thing peculiar was noted on the body of the tigress; there was a fresh wound on her back the size and shape of a human hand, which was explained by the fight with the bear that had been heard overnight' ... " (pp. 159-160). This, to finish the post, is a scan from 'Man-eaters and Memories' (J.E. Carrington Turner, 1959 - I have the reprint of Natraj Publishers from 2007). Carrington Turner (Indian Forest Service) worked in northern India for more than thirty years and saw bears (sloth bears and Himalayan black bears) quite often. Some Himalayan black bears reached a great size and weight:  *This image is copyright of its original author
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