Can anyone recommend some books about Tiger and Leopard hunting in India?

You should start with Corbett. I've only read his and they are fantastic.

quote:

You should start with Corbett. I've only read his and they are fantastic.

+1 it doesn't get any better than Corbett!!!

A lonely tiger--- Allen Hughes
Tiger of Rajasthan---Col. Kesari Singh
Tryst with tigers-- Sher Jung

some of the geniune books I can think of right now.

Col Kesari Sigh's book is a lot of BS and I would not give it much credence. He was a military aide to a local Rajah and organised hunts. His claims of having hunted 1000 tigers is ridiculous. Even if you counted all the tigers in the jungles of his region it would be hard to justify a claim that he hunted 1000 of them (not necessarily shot them!) He then claimed that some other Rajah hunted over 1500 tigers.....or some such ridiculous figure. He also liked to measure tigers over the curves and repeatedly came up with 11 foot and 12 foot tigers!

Sher Jung if I remember right was more credible and reflected a local Indian's hunting scene and not necessarily the Colonial / royalty hunts. He also wrote about hunting tigers and leopards with a shotgun - which was most common among the Indian hunters.

Carrington Turner's is a good book. He was a British Forest Officer who hunted a lot.

Kenneth Anderson was another "novelist" who never shot a Tiger or elephant but claimed to have shot many maneaters. His son Don was a more accomplished hunter and is now in his 70's and living in Bangalore. My brother takes him into the sanctuaries occasionally to watch wildlife.

Corbett was the real true legend. Every animal is officially recorded in government gazzets and local news. All have been authenticated with thorough research.

There are some other old books like Sanderson's from the black powder erra which has a lot of social and village lore of south India along with the hunting - set in the 19th century. I inherited an old copy from my dad.

Dunbar Brander's is also a good book - just a bit studious in my view - as he was also a Forest Officr & a FZS (Fellow of the Zoological society or some such). I seem to have lost my copy.

Maharaja of Sarguja killed close to 1500 tigers in his life time.He was also the one who shot last three cheetahs in India, from his hunting car at night.Kesari singh was conservator of forests for Jaipur and Gwalior states cum police suptd, with hon. title..Maharaja of Datia ,Gwalior ,Jaipur had claimed of killing upward of thosand tigers each.Nawab Nasrullah khan of Bhopal killed nine adult tigers in 24 hrs span.
We are talking of the times when these Rajas have there own jungles and shikaris, literally their own tigers.Viceroy lord Linlithgow claimed killing 4,273 birds in bharatpur in few hours.Cruel but possible.
About Anderson, I have seen some pictures of him with dead tigers(maneaters).His name is on public records for killing hos durga maneater.Reddy of Alvin cooper outfitters in his book "Maneaters of centeral India" mentioned about the killing of this maneater by Anderson. Donald still in Banglore, I heard he moved to Australia.

Jim Corbett's:
The Maneaters of Kumaon
The Temple Tiger
The Maneating Leopard of Rudraprayag
are all fantastic reads of tiger and panther (leopard) hunting in Northern India while

Kenneth Anderson's books:
The Black Panther of Sivanipalli
The Tiger Roars
are similar to Corbett's only based in Southern India.

I don't know where Nakihunter gets his information about Anderson from but I have not come across any evidence showing that he did not hunt and dispatch maneating tigers and panthers as well as other non-maneaters as he writes about.

I have been to Bharathpur and seen the hunting record of 4000 + birds shot by 50 or 60 guns. Yes that was an annual event.

Yes some Rajahs shot 9 tigers in a day on elephant back. But these were rare.

Donald Anderson is still in Bangalore & I spoke to him in March when I was back in India. When I was about 12 years old I remeber him coming to my father to renew his hunting licence. Kenneth had a lot of photos but if you check the village panchayat records and the old newspapers like Hindu & Mail & Deccan Herald etc. you will not find any thing to cross verify his books.

Some of the old Rajahs shot tigers after they were caught and caged!

I am talking of Col Kesari Sigh whose book is in my shelf - he was not a forest officer but a military aide. I am sure there were others who had similar names. I'll try & post pictures of the book when I get back home in mid Dec.

It is well known that some of these people measured tigers over the curve and used tape measures that went 11 incher per foot!! I have read of this trick too.

Kenneth Anderson's stories are about the region around Bangalore which are in today's Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states. My dad was an IFS officer who retired in 1983. He served in some of those regions & knew Don personally as mentioned above. Even in the 50s & 60s you had to be issued with permits to hunt and your animals had to be documented.

I am visiting India right now for 4 weeks and may even meet Don in the next few weeks. I have a few of his father's books - a copy of Fredrick Selous is one.

Naki you would be doing us all a huge favour if you could convince Don to write a book on his hunting adventures. I 'found' Kenneth and Jim's books in my high school library oh so many years ago and ever since have read and re-read these. Apart from the hunting and shooting parts of the stories, both authors conveyed so much about that early life in India in the jungle and they were very engaging authors. I would like to think Kenneth Anderson had all those adventures he writes of, but if there is some writer's embellishment involved, he still provides us with a great story. I'm sure Donald would also provide us with a great insight into those bygone years if only he could be convinced.

Naki you are fortunate to be able to have contact with some of that era, hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip 'back home'.

Thanks eagle 27. Yes I know I am fortunate and thanks mostly to my late father.

Don is a bit of recluse now. He is a bachelor and is upon hard times. He still maintains his dignity and lives in a small unit outside a friend's house. He has sold all his guns long ago. He used to be a manager in the Binny Mills in the 70's. Today a few close friends take him for drives in the bush. My brother knows him reasonably well & Don like my brother's vehicle better than his other friends' cars when driving in the sanctuaries & using flash lights to spot game! I do not know him well at all.

The guys say that is is not easy to get Don to even talk about the old days.