ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

JIM CORBETT AND OLD INDIA - 1


I had prepared a number of posts on tigers and bears in Russia, but when looking for recent information on the internet I stumbled upon a number of videos I want to post right now. The reason is the never know when these videos will be removed. Some of the videos are old, but that doesn't mean they were posted a long time ago. Some, in fact, were posted recently. They are unique.

When I had seen a few and tried to find a few more, I ended with a few videos of Jim Corbett. And a movie in which he features. It was broadcasted on the BBC a number of years ago. I'm not saying the books are better, but a full length movie about Jim Corbett is something special. 


1a - Videos of Himalayan tigers

Before moving to Jim Corbett, I want you to see a few old videos in which Himalayan tigers feature. Those who read books about tigers in India written a long time ago know that many of them had reports about large tigers. This was in particular true for the northern part of what was then British India, where tigers of ten feet and over seemed to be quite common.  

Most biologists, as you know, didn't take these stories very serious. This, as Ullas Karanth wrote, was a result of the rumours about 11-inch tapes, Maharajahs demanding giant tigers, unreliable methods and all the rest of it. When I posted the 20 tables about the size of tigers in old India a year and a half ago or so (this thread), the arguments used to dismiss these records out of hand were discussed at length.   

Here's a few old videos in which tigers shot in northern India feature. Large males:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghnCdYooF5U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snJ77yWVD1w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbtP4FzN9yY

Here's a recent video of a tiger shot in the same region:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcC8hkOAlDM


1b - Jim Corbett

Here's the movie in which Jim Corbett features. A must see, I think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMo2d1b1cP4

In his book 'Man-eaters of Kumaon', Corbett wrote he had filmed a number of tigers himself. Here's one of the films he shot (16 mm.). He is seen at the start:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxnZraYwymo

There is a Jim Corbett Museum in Uttakaranth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNhXBpUSm7E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNhXBpUSm7E


1c - Hunting a man-eating tiger

In contrast to what you may think after reading a few books written by those who hunted them, hunting a man-eating big cat is not easy. Many hunters were convinced that experienced man-eaters were able to foresee their actions. If we add that wild tigers are thinking animals, you can imagine the pressure on those hunting them for a prolonged period of time. Many hunts ended with a blank and not a few man-eaters died of old age back then. Every now and then, the tables were turned.

Some decades ago, an experienced hunter from Austria wrote a book about a hunt in Orissa. The man-eating tigress he was after had killed and eaten scores of humans and was as experienced as they come. It didn't take him a long time to concluded that he faced a lot of disadvantages. The most important of these was that the tigress had contacted him on more than one occasion without him knowing. It took Werner Fend, on the other hand, many months to contact her. This no doubt weighed on his soul. During the period he hunted her, he had to abandon the hunt as a result of a combination of sickness and stress.

In his books, Jim Corbett wrote about his experiences. I read his books more than once and concluded he had been lucky on more than one occasion. Corbett knew and in the end he had no other option but to call it a day. Stress is a killer. Here's one example of what I mean. During one of his hunts, Corbett followed a tigress. When he was completely vulnarable (coincidence?), he suddenly saw her right in front of him. She had been waiting for him, that is. At a distance of a few yards only, she waited for him to make a move. He didn't move, because he had eggs in one hand and the heavy rifle in the other. He knew he was very much disadvantaged, that is. Corbett could have panicked, but was able to turn the tables. I can hear you say he had no other option. True. But how many would have acted in the best possible way?   

But what if the tigress had been a tiger? Most man-eaters were described as wily, cunning and elusive, but that doesn't mean that all were like that. The tiger in the video below was a beginner in the man-eating department and was captured right at the start. I wonder what would have happened when a hunter would have met him at close range. Big cats often roar and growl when insecure, but they also use it to intimidate their victim.

How many of you would have responded in the right way when this big male would have showed himself at a few yards? Remember that a tiger shot in the heart can still move forward and completely destroy you. The tiger also knows. This means that a confrontation at close range is about something else:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlCn2qkQeuk Reply