Man-Eaters of Kumaon: Jim Corbett. Oxford India (1944)

To tell the truth, I feel I should have started on Jim Corbett a long time back. Not because I feel I have missed out on him for so long; but it is a little difficult to appreciate and enjoy him now. I have friends who are absolute fans of Jim. He is a role model to those guys – like people from the WW II comics – a super-human character; a hero.
What strikes me in his book is the style of story telling. It is natural and fluid; and flow from one point to the next like a smooth flowing river or something. He starts off by explaining the reasons why tigers and other wild cats become man-eaters, and this is mostly a man-made condition. So, nature is not to be blamed here. Jim is a born naturalist. A nature lover who is in the profession of protecting human life and cattle when things go wrong in the fine balance between man and animal.
His Book is not just about hunting man-eaters; it’s the story of the jungle. It is the story of what happens when the jungle and its inhabitants come into contact with humans and their civilization. It is also a detailed manual of the sights and sounds of the jungle, its occupants, both large and small, the seasons, the sun, the moon and the starts. He says, these things are absolutely necessary for a hunter (in his words ‘sportsman’) to stay alive.
What I find difficult to acknowledge, is the abundance of flora and fauna during that period. That (the 1920s and 30s) was a time when there was no endangered species, no conservationists groups, no green peace and no ‘save the trees’ organizations. Even at that time Jim was constantly worried about the dwindling tiger population in the area. I just want to say that I did not feel comfortable reading about so many tigers, leopards and other animals being killed, and all in one book. Of course, I understand the conditions, the circumstances and the need for those acts at that time; but I just cannot bring my conscience to accept it, and that’s it.
I know Jim Corbett will not be a very happy man in his ‘Happy Hunting Grounds’, when he sees the state of his forests and the tigers in them today.