Where are most man-eater incidents taking place?

[steve white]

When I read the posts by Prof Mawla, and others in Bangladesh/India and Asia, I get much more anecdotal accounting of dealing with man-eaters than I seem to hear recounted in accounts of today's Africa. Is that just because we are not hearing from the PH/professionals who have to ultimately deal with macabre PAC, or is there something in the make-up of Asian game that produces more man-eating propensities? I have read that leopards in Asia seem to display it more.
When I was in Kilombero, Tanzania 18 yrs ago, the outfitter had at one time employed a writer (Ted Gorsline?) who kept an account of local goings on. He had counted 24 deaths by LION in less than a decade, that were verifiable on that one riverine section. As we passed one of the "fishing islands" with dugouts pulled up, my PH said, "that's the place where 6 people died at one go. We noticed day after day that the boats had not been moved. When we came ashore the trackers said, "the tracks show that one man ran from the lions, triggering the others to also join in the fray. Six dead," they counted by striking one hand against the other. We cannot of course estimate accurately unreported cases on either continent, and some areas on either continent may be more infested...what say ye?

 

[Mopani]

There is quite some man-eating in Africa, done by lions. In India there are many more man-eating leopards than in Africa, I guess it has something to do with the fact that leopards are very fond of curry.

 

[IvW]

Africa will be tops....Lion, leopard and.crocs....and if you like to include getting killed add elephant and hippo....no contest....

 

[DieJager]

Papua New Guinea

 

[WAB]

Papua New Guinea

You’ve got the wrong end of the island!

 

[DieJager]

You’ve got the wrong end of the island!

I thought it was both ends of the island but you got the idea

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I will venture to safely say that the most frequent cases of man eating Royal Bengal tigers in all of Asia, occurs in the Sundarban mangrove forests of East Pakistan/Bangladesh. I was the DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of the Sundarbans from 1981 to 1989 (serving two terms). Later, I became the CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests) for the entire country from 1990 to 2000. My post allowed to to have full access to all of the official reports of incidents involving man eating tigers.

Between 1981 and 2000, an average of 52 local residents per year were estimated to be killed by Royal Bengal tigers. Of these, at least 49 cases were attributed to man eaters (with the others being random encounters where a wood cutter or farmer or fisherman used to accidentally stumble upon a startled tigress with young cubs).

The situation is so extreme that there is actually a village near the Sundarbans which is exclusively inhibited by local women who lost their husbands to the depredations of man eating Royal Bengal tigers.

Nobody knows exactly why the depredations of man eaters are so rampant in these mangrove forests. In 1983, we had an Austrian professor who came to visit the Sundarbans (as a guest of the government) to conduct a three month long research for an article which he was writing. I provided him with one of our forest department launches, as well as a dozen forest guards so that his stay would be safe and comfortable. He concluded that the saltwater of the mangroves was the main attributing factor for the great cats to turn man eater.

For those of you who want to know more about the Royal Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans and prefer an English book, I’d highly recommend Pakistani Journalist and hunter Tahawar Ali Khan’s 1961 masterpiece “The Man Eaters of the Sundarbans“. This book was coincidentally part of our syllabus for our PAC (Problem Animal Control) module back when I was studying ”Principles of Forestry“ in the University of Peshawar from 1967 to 1969.

I personally shot three of the only four man eating Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans (post 1972) for which the Ministry of Forests had issued a “Kill Order”. One in the Moheshorripur region of the Khulna forest range (1981), one in the Chandesshor region of the Chand pai forest range (1988) and one in the Atharobeki region of the Buri Goalini forest range (1989). I unsuccessfully tried to shoot another in 1986 in the Talpatti forest range, but I failed. He was eventually killed via gun trap set by two of my forest guards in January, 1987.

I have the photo of the first man eater in one of my albums. But the photos of the second and third man eaters are in front of me, right now.

Me with the Man Eater of Chandesshor (1988). On the bottom right of the photo frame, you can see the official slip from the Ministry of Forests, which accredits me as the hunter who killed the man eater.

Here‘s a closer snap.

Me with the Man Eater of Atharobeki (1989). Coincidentally, this was the last man eating Royal Bengal tiger to be legally killed in the Sundarban mangrove forests (as of November, 2022).

On my African safaris, I’ve also shot a few lions over the years so far (truly wild ones and never farmed). My white hunter told me that one of them was a man eater. But I can’t say for sure. He might as well have been, since he had been injured by a lead musket ball (no doubt, the work of a trigger happy local poacher armed with a muzzle loader) and his wound was turning gangrenous when I shot him.

 

[TOBY458]

I think @Bullthrower338 has tackled quite a few man eaters in his time. Maybe he'll chime in.

 

[mdwest]

I think @Bullthrower338 has tackled quite a few man eaters in his time. Maybe he'll chime in.

Im not sure Cody's penchant for early 80's Hall & Oates classics is whats being discussed here...

 

[CoElkHunter]

Africa will be tops....Lion, leopard and.crocs....and if you like to include getting killed add elephant and hippo....no contest....

What about all the poisonous snakes that you don't see until you've been bitten and then die a slow, painful death because nobody has anti venom available? That scares me more than any of the above.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Wal Mart?

 

[TOBY458]

Im not sure Cody's penchant for early 80's Hall & Oates classics is whats being discussed here...

View attachment 499229

True. But I'm sure he sewed quite a few oats in some early 80s skating rinks.

 

[steve white]

I will venture to safely say that the most frequent cases of man eating Royal Bengal tigers in all of Asia, occurs in the Sundarban mangrove forests of East Pakistan/Bangladesh. I was the DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of the Sundarbans from 1981 to 1989 (serving two terms). Later, I became the CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests) for the entire country from 1990 to 2000. My post allowed to to have full access to all of the official reports of incidents involving man eating tigers.

Between 1981 and 2000, an average of 52 local residents per year were estimated to be killed by Royal Bengal tigers. Of these, at least 49 cases were attributed to man eaters (with the others being random encounters where a wood cutter or farmer or fisherman used to accidentally stumble upon a startled tigress with young cubs).

The situation is so extreme that there is actually a village near the Sundarbans which is exclusively inhibited by local women who lost their husbands to the depredations of man eating Royal Bengal tigers.

Nobody knows exactly why the depredations of man eaters are so rampant in these mangrove forests. In 1983, we had an Austrian professor who came to visit the Sundarbans (as a guest of the government) to conduct a three month long research for an article which he was writing. I provided him with one of our forest department launches, as well as a dozen forest guards so that his stay would be safe and comfortable. He concluded that the saltwater of the mangroves was the main attributing factor for the great cats to turn man eater.

For those of you who want to know more about the Royal Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans and prefer an English book, I’d highly recommend Pakistani Journalist and hunter Tahawar Ali Khan’s 1961 masterpiece “The Man Eaters of the Sundarbans“. This book was coincidentally part of our syllabus for our PAC (Problem Animal Control) module back when I was studying ”Principles of Forestry“ in the University of Peshawar from 1967 to 1969.
View attachment 499224

I personally shot three of the only four man eating Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans (post 1972) for which the Ministry of Forests had issued a “Kill Order”. One in the Moheshorripur region of the Khulna forest range (1981), one in the Chandesshor region of the Chand pai forest range (1988) and one in the Atharobeki region of the Buri Goalini forest range (1989). I unsuccessfully tried to shoot another in 1986 in the Talpatti forest range, but I failed. He was eventually killed via gun trap set by two of my forest guards in January, 1987.

I have the photo of the first man eater in one of my albums. But the photos of the second and third man eaters are in front of me, right now.
View attachment 499217
Me with the Man Eater of Chandesshor (1988). On the bottom right of the photo frame, you can see the official slip from the Ministry of Forests, which accredits me as the hunter who killed the man eater.

Here‘s a closer snap.
View attachment 499223
View attachment 499216
Me with the Man Eater of Atharobeki (1989). Coincidentally, this was the last man eating Royal Bengal tiger to be legally killed in the Sundarban mangrove forests (as of November, 2022).

On my African safaris, I’ve also shot a few lions over the years so far (truly wild ones and never farmed). My white hunter told me that one of them was a man eater. But I can’t say for sure. He might as well have been, since he had been injured by a lead musket ball (no doubt, the work of a trigger happy local poacher armed with a muzzle loader) and his wound was turning gangrenous when I shot him.
View attachment 499225View attachment 499226View attachment 499227

In your opinion HOW were the Sundarban tigers so successful in getting the drop on people? I heard of scouts going in on boat, boat coming out empty with the current.

 

[Bullthrower338]

True. But I'm sure he sewed quite a few oats in some early 80s skating rinks.

I just wish the feathered hair was still cool, I rocked that Miami Vice look in Montana!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

In the USA, I’d have to go hands down with Washington, D.C.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

In your opinion HOW were the Sundarban tigers so successful in getting the drop on people? I heard of scouts going in on boat, boat coming out empty with the current.

Actually, this is a very popular myth about the Sundarbans. But it isn't 100 % true. You see... the only way you can travel through the Sundarbans is via boat. The Sundarbans is basically thousands of tiny islands scattered across a gigantic saltwater marsh. There are no beaten paths or tracks or such.

Royal Bengal tigers have no sense of smell. So when they see a boat going through one of the canals or creeks, a man eater will follow the boat and wait for the people on the boat to come ashore (usually wood cutters appointed to chop Goran wood for the government coupe offices). The tiger will begin to stalk the group, having already made up it's mind as to which member of the group it will be feeding on. The vegetation in the mangroves is so dense (combined with the Royal Bengal tiger's natural ability to stealthily stalk it's prey) that the victims will seldom see the tiger coming.

The tiger (at the opportune moment) pounces on a victim (either from the rear or from one of the sides) and seizes them by the neck, usually crushing their spine and killing them outright. The tiger then makes off into the interior of the mangroves with the victim's corpse in it's mouth. Once alone, it will start eating flesh from the victims buttocks (unless if the victim is a female, in which case the breasts are eaten first) and eventually consume half the meat from the carcass. Then, it will go somewhere nearby to get some rest. After sundown, the tiger will return to the partially eaten carcass (provided that the kill remains undisturbed) and strip the rest of the corpse of flesh. It takes a Royal Bengal tiger two meals to finish eating an adult human being or a Chital deer. One meal to finish eating a wild boar.The other human beings in the party run for their lives back to the boat, once the man eater attacks. Man eating Royal Bengal tigers never attack more than one victim at a time.

There are also several documented cases of man eating Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans ACTUALLY SWIMMING out towards the anchored boats of local fishermen in the dead of night before attacking the unsuspecting sleeping fishermen and swimming back ashore with it's victim's corpse in it's mouth.

Recent victims of man eating Royal Bengal tigers (2022). Please note that I didn't take any of the photos below, myself. I never lie, so I'm clearing this up beforehand.

GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW

GRAPHIC CONTENT ABOVE


The story about an entire boatload of people entering the Sundarbans and none of them coming back alive, is true. But the culprit in this case was not a man eating Royal Bengal tiger. It was a bask of saltwater crocodiles, which stalked and fed on an entire group of shrimp harvesters who had gone ashore on Rai Mangal Island in 1956 in the region where the Pussur river flows into the sea. The Pussur river is coincidentally named "Blood River" by the locals for this very reason.

Sundarbans is full of things which want to kill you. Man eating Royal Bengal tigers on land, saltwater crocodiles in the riverbank, five kinds of poisonous snakes in the trees and bushes, saltwater sharks in the water, gigantic tusked wild boars near the brambles. And we've not even begun to talk about the human threats lurking in those forests, like pirates and drug smugglers (although my administration successfully eradicated them due to my zero tolerance policy).

 

[mark-hunter]

@Hunter-Habib
What is your educated estimate on Bengal tiger population in:
1) Bangladesh
2) India
3) elsewhere

Population: Steady, reducing, or increasing in numbers?

Did hunting ban, improved Bengal tiger population numbers anywhere?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

@Hunter-Habib
What is your educated estimate on Bengal tiger population in:
1) Bangladesh
2) India
3) elsewhere

Population: Steady, reducing, or increasing in numbers?

Did hunting ban, improved Bengal tiger population numbers anywhere?

@mark-hunter
I'll keep my comments strictly confined to East Pakistan/Bangladesh. If I make any comments about India, a group of trolls will suddenly pop out of nowhere and start calling me either a liar or a bigot.

In regards to East Pakistan/Bangladesh... A temporary ban was at one time actually necessary. This is because a massive amount of Royal Bengal tigers were indiscriminately killed during the East Pakistani era between 1947 and 1970. The game laws of that period were so bizarre that one needed a written hunting permit to hunt Chital deer in the Sundarbans (and only two such permits for stags would be issued to each hunter per year). But no legal protection whatsoever was offered to Royal Bengal tigers. They were classified as pests and vermin all year around. Rather, the Sundarban Department of Forests used to dole out hefty cash rewards for not only the killing of man eaters but also livestock killers/cattle lifters as well.

As a result, a lot of unscrupulous butchers started to indiscriminately kill any Royal Bengal tiger that they crossed paths with. They would kill sometimes up to 20 tigers just to to find and eliminate one man eater or cattle lifter.

Commerical hunting (for the accumulation of Royal Bengal tiger hides, fangs, claws, genitals and bones for sale) was also rampant, with many locals killing dozens of Royal Bengal tigers (males, females and cubs alike) either by using gun traps or by using folidol to poison them. In 1982, my men and I actually arrested a group of Royal Bengal tiger poachers who had 126 Royal Bengal tiger hides in their tin shed (so just imagine how many of these poor creatures they might have indiscriminately killed and already sold the hides and bones of). The hides of Royal Bengal tigers were/are prized as decoration pieces. The bones were/are used as herbal medicine and were/are a hot item on the black market (esp in China and Vietnam). The fangs and claws were/are prized as jewellery. And the penis and testicles were/are prized as aphrodisiacs (esp in China and Vietnam).

After the Wildlife Conservation Act was passed in 1973, the Royal Bengal tiger was afforded complete legal protection and only four man eating Royal Bengal tigers have been legally killed since then (as mentioned above, I personally shot three of them and another was killed via gun trap set by two of my forest guards). The plan was initially to have the ban lifted by 2003 (after a 30 year period to enable the population of Royal Bengal tigers to restabilize). But then, another government came to power and politics intervened. Media people kept singing their usual ignorant tunes about the "Poor Innocent Tigers" and masses of brain dead people started to demand that the ban remain (without having the slightest clue about how wildlife conservation or ecosystem management really works). There was also political pressure from a certain neighbouring country where animals are prioritized far higher than human beings (I think you can already guess which country I'm implying). And well... you know the rest.

In my observation, the population of Royal Bengal tigers is strictly on the rise in the Sundarbans (contrary to what media wants you to think). Which is why the case of human wildlife conflict in the Sundarbans is now much more severe than ever.

I strongly believe that if an African mode of conservation was used (i.e issue five to ten fairly priced hunting permits per year for adult male Royal Bengal tigers and then use the funds to pay for conservation of the great cats), then two ends would be served:
1) Human wildlife conflict would reduce
2) Funds for conserving the other tigers (which would NOT be hunted) would be generated

But in today's political climate, I doubt that will ever happen.

 

[mark-hunter]

Thank you @Hunter-Habib

 

[VertigoBE]

Very interesting information @Hunter-Habib , thanks a lot for sharing!