This week's hero is...
Jim Corbett
Jim Corbett was born on July 25, 1875. He grew up in British India as the eighth of sixteen children. He became fascinated of stories of hunting wild animals and decided to become an expert hunter. After his 18th birthday, he dropped out of school and began to train to hunt with local Indian trackers and expert hunters. His prime target would be, the Bengal tiger. Little did he know, he wouldn't have to wait long before his training would be put to the ultimate test.
Corbett's interests took him to the Indian village of, Champawat. Upon his arrival, the locals told him of a terrifying tiger that had been preying upon the people in and around the village for more than six years. Efforts to hunt it down had all proved in vain. The beast was known to strike a victim during broad daylight with lightning speed, crush the poor soul's windpipe, and drag them off into the jungle to be devoured. By the time any hunter would arrive on the scene, all that would remain would be a blood trail that led to a bloody pile of clothes. By 1907, it had killed approximately 436 people in India and also Nepal.
Corbett tracked the tiger to a nearby ravine. He had 300 villagers form a line. They then fired their guns in the air and screamed as loud as they could. Within seconds, the tiger appeared. Corbett fired four shots (three hit their mark). Just like that, the Champawat Tiger's rampage came to an end. To this day, it remains the deadliest man-eater in recorded history.
Upon killing the tiger, Corbett had it examined by experts who discovered that the tiger was an older female. Most interesting of all, was that two of the tiger's four canine teeth were missing on the right side of the jaw. After examining this, Corbett concluded that the tiger had been shot in the jaw by a poacher. Because it lost two of its main killing weapons, the tigress could no longer hunt its regular prey and needed to hunt something much smaller and easier to kill. This along with its constant need to feed, caused it to target humans. In other words, the rampage of the Champawat Tiger was a man-made disaster and she was as much of a victim as her prey.
Jim Corbett was lauded as a great hero throughout India and the UK. He would go on to become one of the most distinguished hunters of the 20th century. During the rest of his life, Corbett hunted and shot more than a dozen tigers and leopards that were eating people. In almost every case, he found that they only were doing so due to a deformity or a problem caused by human incursions into their territory. Despite killing many big cats in Southeast Asia, Corbett also was a naturalist and later established a national reserve for India's Bengal tigers (which were becoming critically endangered). When he retired from hunting he published many books about nature and the need to preserve it and respect the animals that lived alongside humans. He passed away on April 19, 1955, at the age of 79.
Two years after his passing, India's first national park was named for Jim Corbett. To this day, it has been a sanctuary and premier spot for India's big cat population (especially the bengal tiger). Despite many conservation efforts throughout the world, all nine species of tigers remain on the endangered species list. For his part, Corbett is remembered as the, "Hunter with a heart", due to his care for nature and advocation for the tiger's preservation. He remains a major inspiration to all naturalists who work to save endangered species. He is definitely someone to be held in high regard.
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