Maneaters of Tsavo: Follow Up and Questions

[grand veneur]

The tiger looks very much like a domestic cat and so does his behavior. I am never afraid of lions in Africa, but with tigers it was different. In the short time that I hunted in Malaysia, I was always careful what tigers concern. They attack from ambush and that is why it is difficult to protect yourself from them in the dense jungle. The chance in the area was that there was a lot of prey for the tiger so it did not pose too much problems for the human people.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The tiger looks very much like a domestic cat and so does his behavior. I am never afraid of lions in Africa, but with tigers it was different. In the short time that I hunted in Malaysia, I was always careful what tigers concern. They attack from ambush and that is why it is difficult to protect yourself from them in the dense jungle. The chance in the area was that there was a lot of prey for the tiger so it did not pose too much problems for the human people.

Did you ever bag a Malaysian tiger ? What game animals did you bag in Malaysia ?

When I was a young man studying Environmental Management in the University of London, I had the good fortune to meet Colonel Arthur Locke once. He used to be the District Commissioner in a rural part of Malaysia between 1949-1951 and he had shot 19 Malayan tigers in rural Kemaman.

I only shot four wild boars and one Sambar stag in Malaysia in 1977.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Huge respect to both of those fantastic intimidating beasts.

 

[grand veneur]

Did you ever bag a Malaysian tiger ? What game animals did you bag in Malaysia ?

When I was a young man studying Environmental Management in the University of London, I had the good fortune to meet Colonel Arthur Locke once. He used to be the District Commissioner in a rural part of Malaysia between 1949-1951 and he had shot 19 Malayan tigers in rural Kemaman.

I only shot four wild boars and one Sambar stag in Malaysia in 1977.

Tigers were in this time strictly protected in Malaysia. We hunted above all buffaloes, problem animals that caused unrest especially in the palm oil plantations, less or hardly at all in the Hevea plantations. I had the chance to shot a very big wild boar. I tried to shot a sambar deer and for this reason I often sat on a Machan and wait for it, but unfortunately I never saw one.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

I never read the book but did a podcast on the Ghost and the Darkness movie.

Crazy how some of the ridiculousness of the movie actually happened (even though the movie took huge liberties).

I didn't know it was on Spotify. I'll have to check it out.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

When you can find bits and pieces on the man eaters of Chirundu. Think it compares or even more interesting. I believe there is a reprint from the African hunter.

If Africa could only give up all of her stories.

Lon

 

[J.Ogilvie]

The issue of man-eating animals is a lot more common that most people in the Western World realize.

During the whole Cecil fiasco, a Zimbabwean man wrote a piece in the New York Times and he mentions that one of the reasons why people don't like lions in rural Africa is because of how often they attack people.

Opinion | In Zimbabwe, We Don’t Cry for Lions (Published 2015)

Do Americans who are upset about Cecil even realize how terrifying animals can be?

www.nytimes.com

 

[PCC600]

I think the life of Colonel JH Patterson is just amazing . That ghastly movie “The Ghost and the Darkness” did him a great disservice . He was literally on his own - no Irritating Michael Douglas as back up . A professional engineer not a professional hunter trying to solve a terrible problem - on his own . He got the job done . He is also indirectly immortalised by Hemingway in “The Short Happy Life of Francis McComber”. Patterson became a professional hunter in Africa and a shooting similar to that reported by Hemingway happened when he was the PH . It was a major scandal in the UK. The other really significant thing is that Patterson formed , trained and led the Jewish Brigade against the Turks in WW1 . His contemporary leading the Arab Brigade was Lawrence of Arabia ! Patterson personally trained many of the men who would lead Israel after independence . An amazing man .

 

[HookMeUpII]

The pages below are from Chapter VI of my autobiography. Hopefully, it will provide some insight into human-wildlife conflict involving Royal Bengal tigers in our part of the world.

It also details the reasons why Royal Bengal tigers become man eaters. The same reasons also apply to lions & leopards in Asia & Africa.

Habib, my apologies as I didn't have a chance to actually come back and read this until now. You are essentially a modern day Corbett. The reasons for them becoming maneaters that you cited are interesting. The porcupine quill instance and more specifically, the brain parasite. That is very interesting.

It seems as though the Bengal tiger typically becomes a maneater more often than others more so due to the amount of humans in its domain. With the population in India being so high there are just a ton of humans around.

In any event, seems like a not great way to go out. Having those body parts you mentioned being eaten first doesn't seem fun.

 

[mark-hunter]

I just can't seem to understand how these issues don't present themselves currently? Maybe it was just the influx of Europeans back then was so new and created crowding? Maybe we know enough now? Are we just smarter to not get eaten?

They do. Just they dont attract so much attention.
Few hundred people are killed by tigers in India every year. Many of them in Sundarban forest.

But not only tigers attack, see this:

Marauding elephant could be shot after killing 15 people in India

Wildlife officials say something must be done to end animal’s months-long rampage that has left villagers living in fear

www.theguardian.com

 

[HookMeUpII]

I have read the book. Watched the movie several times. I would like to visit the Chicago Field Museum and see Patterson’s Lions.

My first thoughts went straight to the movie.

@HookMeUpII if you enjoyed the book you might enjoy the movie.

Oh I saw the movie many many years ago as a kid. It's good. The book is so much better though. I like how the book went into his other adventures as well. Including the Patterson eland he discovered.