The Terai Tiger

[Sanju]

The Rifle That Took The Smithsonian’s Giant Of Kumaon

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So terrifying was its appearance that the Smithsonian ordered the taxidermist to close the tiger’s mouth.

The yellowed newspaper clippings and fading photographs tell a remarkable story. It was in November, 1967, that David Hasinger, Dr. Karl Jonas and their wives traveled to India to hunt tigers. Beyond the slightest doubt, they were mindful of Jim Corbett’s famous adventures, for they had arranged to hunt his Kumaon District in the foothills of the Himalayas bordering Nepal and China. One of the things they probably didn’t expect was that they would actually hunt within sight of Corbett’s home.

*This image is copyright of its original author

David Hasinger’s Winchester pre-64 Model 70 375 H&H Magnum and a newspaper clipping from The Philadelphia Inquirer, which featured an article on his hunt in India.

Slated to last 15 days, Hasinger and Jonas were told that only one of them might anticipate a shooting opportunity, yet their hunts were successful beyond measure. Supported by a team that included two experienced professional hunters, 10 elephants and their handlers along with some 40 beaters, they hit it hard. Hunting from elephant-back and waiting on platforms lashed in likely trees, half the hunt passed before a tiger gave either of them a chance.

On the eighth day, Dr. Jonas’ luck changed. Pressed by the beaters, a tiger came out of the 15-foot-tall grass right at him. His shot was taken at just 12 feet—into the tiger’s open mouth—and dropped the big cat in his tracks. Measuring 9 feet, 4 inches, the tiger occasioned a festive celebration with the villagers.

Four days later, Hasinger killed a tiger that would rock the hunting world. The huge cat was said to have “terrorized livestock and residents for a full year.”
Its great size caused much speculation, but no one dared to dream that it would weigh 857 pounds and measure 11 feet, 1 inch. By comparison, Corbett’s famed Bachelor of Powalgarh stretched “10 feet, 7 inches over the curves.” The Forestry and Game Commission of India officially certified Hasinger’s tiger as the largest on record.
After returning to America, Hasinger contacted the Smithsonian and offered to donate the tiger for permanent display. It was quickly accepted and, in fact, was so highly regarded that legendary taxidermist Louis Paul Jonas came out of retirement to create the mount.

The tiger was originally completed with an open mouth as it sprang toward a frightened chital, but the pose was so terrifying that the Smithsonian directed the mouth to be closed. The Hasinger tiger remains on display at the Smithsonian to this day, although the chital is no longer part of the exhibit.

The Hasinger rifle is a Winchester pre-64 Model 70 375 H&H Magnum. Made in 1941, it wears a 25-inch barrel and is fitted with a Paul Jaeger detachable side mount and a Lyman aperture sight. Provenance includes a goodly number of newspaper articles, photographs and a certified letter from the Jonas family detailing its history and connection to the Smithsonian tiger.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Today, the tiger is on display in a second story alcove overlooking the museum’s mezzanine.


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