The Teacher who killed 42 man-eating Leopards

[xl_target]

The simple measure of Jim Corbett's success in killing a man-eaters was that the human kills stopped immediately. I repeat, in Jim Corbett's case every single time he dispatched a man eater the human kills in that area ceased. He took great pains to ascertain that the animal he shot was actually the man-eater. We also know from Corbett (and many others) that man-eaters are an exception. The activity is often taken up by the big cat when he/she has no other choice or if taught by the mother. Given the number of big cats in India at the time, the percentage of man-eaters was very small. The chances of there being multiple man-eaters in the same area is not impossible but it is very rare.

If the human kills continue, then just some random animal was shot. Was there an instant cessation in man-eating activity after Mr Rawat shot each animal or did he continue to shoot animals till eventually the activity ceased? I believe that is in essence what is being questioned here.

Do I know the truth? No, I'm just asking.

[Vikram]

The simple measure of Jim Corbett's success in killing a man-eaters was that the human kills stopped immediately. I repeat, in Jim Corbett's case every single time he dispatched a man eater the human kills in that area ceased. He took great pains to ascertain that the animal he shot was actually the man-eater. We also know from Corbett (and many others) that man-eaters are an exception. The activity is often taken up by the big cat when he/she has no other choice or if taught by the mother. Given the number of big cats in India at the time, the percentage of man-eaters was very small. The chances of there being multiple man-eaters in the same area is not impossible but it is very rare.

If the human kills continue, then just some random animal was shot. Was there an instant cessation in man-eating activity after Mr Rawat shot each animal or did he continue to shoot animals till eventually the activity ceased? I believe that is in essence what is being questioned here.

Do I know the truth? No, I'm just asking.

Well said, XL.

It is true that the habitats are shrinking along with the prey base. However, the situation is similar elsewhere in India not just in the area where Mr.Rawat lives. You do not hear of so many maneaters like this place. What makes this place special?

Did you hear of or read this news that the leopard shot by Mr. Khan the other day was not a maneater?

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... n-killings

A post-mortem of the leopard shot by Khan has revealed remains of dog hair. We have sent the leopard's viscera for DNA analysis to a laboratory to determine whether it killed human beings. We have not been able to match pugmarks of the dead leopard with those found at the site of human killings. I cannot say outright whether the dead leopard is the man-eater or not," said Harshvardhan Kathuria, conservator of forests, Mandi.

I will not try to take anything away from the service the likes of Mr.Rawat, Mr.Khan etc., render. However, we do not have many leopards and tigers left in this country. Hence it is important that the methods used need to be examined closely and ensure the minimisation of shooting non-maneating predators.I hope that is not unreasonable to ask.

Best-
Vikram