A Hunter Turned Naturalist (Supplementary)

A Hunter Turned Naturalist

Jim Corbett

Edward James Corbett, popularly known as Jim Corbett, was a British wildlife photographer, hunter, tracker, naturalist, and writer. He hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in India. He had a lot of experience with tigers and other wild animals to shoot with his cine-film camera.

Corbett always preferred to hunt alone and on foot. He often hunted with Robin, his dog. Though he was an expert hunter, he admired wildlife. He did not like to kill wild animals for pleasure or sport. But he did not hesitate to kill man-eating tigers or leopards. He hunted these animals only to help people and only at the request of the Government. He took no joy from the kill. He often said, “Not against the law of nature, but against the laws of human.”

According to his theory, a tiger starts eating humans when it grows old or gets hurt. As they cannot run fast, they start killing humans. People cannot run as fast as animals, so they become easy prey. After eating human flesh once, a tiger will not eat any other flesh. These tigers are called man-eaters.

His first man-eating tiger hunt was The Champawat Tiger. It was a Bengal tigress responsible for nearly 436 deaths in Nepal and the Kumaon area of India. Her attacks have been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest number of fatalities from a tiger. She was shot in 1907 by Jim Corbett.

The tigress began her attacks in Rupal village in western Nepal, Himalayas. Hunters were sent to kill the tiger, but she managed to escape from them. The Nepalese Army, after failing to capture or kill the tiger, drove her across the border into India. There she continued her killings in the Kumaon District. All her kills happened during the daylight.

After several incidents, people stopped going into the forest to collect firewood, fruits, roots, and other things. They were terrified to go out and refused to leave their huts after hearing her roar from the forest. The British government requested Jim Corbett to help the villagers. He agreed to hunt down the man-eater.

He camped in the Kumaon District and started tracking the tigress. He moved around the villages and restricted the activities of the man-eater. After several unsuccessful attempts, Corbett managed to kill the tiger when it killed a 16-year-old girl in the village near Champawat, and left a trail of blood, which Corbett followed. After a whole day of pursuit, Corbett had to abandon the hunt, decided to use villagers, and to organise a bait the next day near the Champa River. With the help of the tahsildar of Champawat, the bait was organised with about 300 villagers. The next day, Corbett shot the tigress dead near the Chataar Bridge in Champawat. A “cement board” was erected, marking the place where the tigress was finally brought down.

A postmortem on the tigress showed the upper and lower canine teeth on the right side of her mouth were broken, the upper one in half, the lower one right down to the bone. This injury was a result of an old gunshot from a game hunter who failed to track and kill it. According to Corbett, probably this injury prevented her from hunting her natural prey, and hence she started to hunt humans.

Jadav Payeng is better known as the Forest Man of India. He earned this name by spending 30 years of his life planting trees, creating a real man-made forest of 550 hectares.

Jim Corbett was always against game hunting. He strongly advocated that deforestation and human encroachment were the main cause of the mischief of wild animals. He went on lecturing tours to educate the people about their natural heritage and the need to conserve forests and their wildlife. He promoted the “Association for the Preservation of Game” and the “All-India Conference for the Preservation of Wildlife.” He played a key role in establishing India’s first national park in the Kumaon Hills, the Hailey National Park, in Uttarakhand, India. It was initially named after Lord Malcolm Hailey. Jim Corbett died on 19 April 1955. The park was renamed in 1957 as The Jim Corbett National Park. It was named after him to honour his role in establishing this protected area in the 1930s.

Glossary

• hesitate (v) – pause before saying or doing something
• fatalities (n) – an occurrence of death by accident
• restricted (v) – limited extent
• pursuit (n) – search
• encroachment (n) – to advance beyond usual limits
• preservation (n) – protection

A. Fill in the blanks

1. Jim Corbett died on 19 April 1955.
2. Corbett shot wild animals in his cine-film camera.
3. The Champawat Tiger was the first man-eater shot by Corbett.
4. Corbett shot the tigress dead, near the Chataar Bridge.

B. Read the passage and answer

Passage:
Jim Corbett played a key role in establishing India’s first national park in the Kumaon Hills, the Hailey National Park, in Uttarakhand, India. It was initially named after Lord Malcolm Hailey. Jim Corbett died on 19 April 1955. The park was renamed in 1957 as The Jim Corbett National Park. It was named after him to honour his role in establishing this protected area in the 1930s.

1. Who played a key role in establishing the national park?
   Jim Corbett

2. Why was the park named Hailey National Park?
   It was named after Lord Malcolm Hailey.

3. When was it renamed as Jim Corbett National Park?
   In 1957

C. Answer in one or two words

1. What was the birth name of Jim Corbett?
   Edward James Corbett

2. What was the name of Corbett’s dog?
   Robin

3. How many kills did the Champawat Tiger record?
   436

4. Who was the last kill of the Champawat Tiger?
   A 16-year-old girl

5. When did Jim Corbett die?
   19 April 1955

D. Answer in 100 words

1. According to Corbett, why does a tiger turn into a man-eater?
   Corbett believed that a tiger becomes a man-eater only when it is too old or injured to hunt its natural prey. Due to broken teeth or other injuries, it cannot chase fast animals. Humans, being slower and easier to catch, become its target. Once it tastes human flesh, it refuses to eat any other meat, thus turning into a man-eater.

2. How was the Champawat Tiger killed?
   After tracking the tigress for days, Corbett followed the blood trail of her last victim. He organised a bait with 300 villagers near the Champa River. The next day, he shot her dead near the Chataar Bridge in Champawat.

3. What were the findings of the postmortem?
   The postmortem revealed that the tigress had broken canine teeth on the right side—the upper one broken in half and the lower one down to the bone. This old gunshot injury prevented her from hunting natural prey, forcing her to attack humans.

Step to Success – Analogy

1. Reading : Knowledge , Work : ?
   a) Experience

2. Cricket : Bat , Hockey : ?
   b) Stick

3. Dog : Rabies , Mosquito : ?
   c) Malaria

4. Man : Biography , Nation : ?
   d) History

5. Bread : Bakery , Brick : ?
   b) Kiln

6. Doctor : Diagnosis, Judge : ?
   d) Judgement

Connecting to Self

Try to know whether your hobby makes things easy.

Hobby	Time spent in a day	Your feeling	Status (Easy / Difficult)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

ICT Corner – Grammar

Degrees of Comparison

• To learn and practice the three forms of adjectives.
• To know and practice the rules while comparing the adjectives.

Steps:
1. Type the URL link given below in the browser or scan the QR code.
2. You can see the rules of forming a sentence in comparative and superlative degrees.
3. Study the examples carefully and understand the rules.
4. Click Exercises on Comparative and Superlative at the bottom of the page.
5. Complete the exercises by typing the answers in the provided boxes. Click on 'check' or 'reveal' button to view the answers.

Website URL:
https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-comparatives-superlatives.php

Practice Practice Exercises

1. Jim Corbett died on

2. Corbett shot wild animals in his

3. was the first man eater shot by Corbett.

4. Corbett shot the tigress dead, near the .

a) Experience

b) Engagement

c) Experiment

d) Employment

a) Field

b) Stick

c) Player

d) Ball

a) Plague

b) Death

c) Malaria

d) Sting

a) Leader

b) People

c) Geography

d) History

a) Mint

b) Kiln

c) Furnace

d) Mine

a) Court

b) Punishment

c) Lawyer

d) Judgement