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

[peter]

Yes Wander, wild boars are not to be taken lightly. Digby (see the posts on his book), after World War One, wrote wild boars were not hunted by humans in eastern parts of Siberia (the Irkutzk region), as they had not been 'habituated' to humans. This meant they were considered too dangerous to hunt. I do not doubt there were good reasons.

I also read countless letters and stories on Indian wild boars hunted because they had killed humans. Old male boars especially, often solitary animals, had a bad reputation.

When we, regarding India, think of man-killers, leopards and tigers in particular often come to mind first, but there are many reliable stories on man-killing wild boars and wild buffalos. Hicks ('Forty years among the wild animals of India, from Mysore to the Himalayas') wrote a story about a wild Buffalo in Central India who attacked fishing boats and killed numerous men. When Hicks went after him, the buffalo nearly turned the tables on him. It was a close call.

Here, to finish with, are two photographs of wild boars I got from a book on hunting in Bulgaria. No giants, but more than large enough to take care of any kind of opposition:

*This image is copyright of its original author

 

*This image is copyright of its original author

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