Indian Big Five

[prashantsingh]

Every one knows of the African Big 5.
Lion
Leopard
Elephant
Rhino
and Cape Buffalo.
When I came back from my African hunt a few years ago. A number of friends asked me why animals like the Giraffe , Hippo, Eland , Gorilla etc. did not feature in the Big 5 , inspite of being bigger in size that the leopard or the lion.
The explanation is simple. For a "Shikari" the challenge (of the hunt) is more important than the physical size of the animal. A well earned Leopard would any day be a greater reward than the tallest Giraffe.A hunter (who in most cases is also a conservationist) would probably give more importance to the chase than to the "blood lust" . The wilderness is the pulling force. The sounds of the jungle..... music to his ears. He is there because he loves being there, not because he loves to kill. The more difficult the hunt . The more thrilling the experience and the less frequent the killing.The "Trophy" is only a reminder of an overall experience........ the final reward.
You could as well buy a Leopard skin from the market. But would it ever have the same value as the one you shot in the African wilderness?

In the days of Shikar (in India) there was also the Indian Big Five.
Tiger
Leopard
Elephant
Buffalo
and Indian Bison (Gaur).

Though we have the Asian Lion and the One horned Rhino as well, there hunting had been banned much earlier and as such they did not feature in this list.

Interestingly there was also a Himalayan Big 5
Ibex
Markhor
Tahr
Argali
and Bharal.
Though they can not be put in the true class of Dangerous Game hunting. Their hunting made quite a sport simply because of the challenges the sportsman undertook in persuit of a decent head.

Coming back to the Indian Big 5 (Dangerous Game) and talking about the rules of the "game". One of the most important ethics which most Shikaris followed was to --- never leave an injured animal in the wild. The Shikari tried his best to kill his quarry cleanly. When he failed to do so.It became his moral responsibility to finish the wounded animal. Even if it meant, putting his own life into danger.
A wounded animal would either die a painful death or be a danger to humans life. It was the job of the Shikari to relieve the animal of it's pain and suffering as soon as possible.
Infact (in most cases) the so-called "dangerous game" was not so dangerous......... until wounded. The real danger came after the weapon had been fired.

In South Africa (today) it is mandatory for a client (hunter) to be accompanied by two Professional Hunters while going for dangerous game.The minimum caliber for such a hunt is a .375 Magnum. Yet every year 5 to 6 clients/professional hunters are killed in such hunts (in South Africa alone).
In India during the days of Shikar (pre 1970's) there were no such rules. One can easily assume the number of casualties while hunting the Indian Big 5 were much higher.

[357 S&W]

PrashathSingh very nice write up. You have wrote what most people who do not hunt are not aware of; I have some hunters in my family from the era when hunting was legal in India and they share the same thoughts too and have bagged all the big 5 of India.

[Baljit]

, yes indeed Parshant , very nice write up again ,so the people can understand what's the meaning of hunting and dangerous game.Keep it up my friend,

Baljit

[timmy]

Thanks for this writeup, Prashant. It really makes one think and, maybe, become a little nostalgic. The Indian "Big 5" is certainly a respectable list in anyone's book. Sadly, these days have passed not only in India, but also in other areas, as well. Your list of the Himalayan Big 5 reminds me of a gentleman I knew many years ago -- he was quite a hunter. He had what used to be known here as a "Grand Slam" of the 4 North American sheep: Dall, Desert, Stone, and Big Horn. Getting this "Grand Slam" may not have exposed one to maneaters, like the other lists, but like the Himalayan, it certainly required a manly effort to fill as a hunter. While I knew him, he also filled what was known as a "World Slam" for sheep. In those days, as he told me, there were 16 major kinds of sheep (including the North American ones) worldwide, of which one needed 14 to qualify for a World Slam. He filled this, and in fact was one of the last Americans out of Iran. His tales of mobs thronging his car were quite interesting at the time, to say the least! Anyway, I think the two he didn't have was a Mongolian sheep (Ovis ammon, I believe), and the Marco Polo. Evidently, these were the most expensive pair to hunt. He was quite a hunter -- I did gophers with him once, and he was an excellent shot!

Even in my youth, the times of the famous writers and their tales were stories from yesteryear, and now, even those days seem in the distant past.

You note:

You could as well buy a Leopard skin from the market. But would it ever have the same value as the one you shot in the African wilderness?

Indeed. But in these days of "posers", publicity, and self-promotion, such attitudes do seem to be more commonly accepted as normal, proper behavior.

Again, thanks for an interesting and educational writeup.

[prashantsingh]

Thanks Timmy for the info.
With a shrinking habitat the man animal conflict in India is bound to rise. The Wild Buffalo numbers have really gone down. Surprisingly it's African cousin is doing well and is the most hunted amongst the African Big 5.
With time . As the conflict grows I won't be surprised if more leopards in India turn to maneating and more Elephants turn rogues.
A senior forest officer I met recently was telling me how they had to put down a tusker a few years ago in West Bengal. On inspecting the animal , they found an arrow stuck in the neck . Probably shot by a poacher or a villager trying to protect his crop. The arrow had infected the area and (must have) caused a lot of suffering.
Unfortunately it's a loosing battle for the wildlife.

[ckkalyan]

Every one knows of the African Big 5.
* Lion
* Leopard
* Elephant
* Rhino and
* Cape Buffalo.

In the days of Shikar (in India) there was also the Indian Big Five.
* Tiger
* Leopard
* Elephant
* Buffalo and
* Indian Bison (Gaur).

Nice write-up prashantsingh.

I could not help, but notice the uncanny, similarity in the "Big-5" line up in Africa and in India. I thought it was very interesting - triggers a lot of theories!?

Thanks for sharing.

[kragiesardar]

as always a great write up Prashant!

[jetley]

Thanks for sharing such an interesting and informative subject.
Best Wishes

[dr.jayakumar]

'' more difficult and more thrilling'' is what i like about wildlife.
thanks for sharing your knowledge with us mr.prashanth.
regards.