There are thrilling, chilling descriptions of everything from sitting up in a tree with a tiger scratching at the trunk below, to the frustrating—and dangerous—uncertainty brought on by having one ear deafened thanks to a gunshot. Most of all, there are Corbett’s brilliant insights into jungle life: the dynamics of it, the symbiosis, the hows and whys and whats. This, coupled with Corbett’s obvious affection and respect for the people of these hills, is what makes this (like all of Corbett’s books on his adventures in this part of the world) so immensely readable.

Abridged Educational Edition published for schools under the title 'The Mohan Man-Eater and Other Stories' – illustrated by C.H.G. Moorhouse I loved the beginning when Corbett explained as to why a tiger turns into a man eater. I came to know a lot of things about tigers which I hadn't earlier. I loved the way he described the jungles and the villages of Kumaon. It is only possible to lay out such details when you are absolutely in love with the forest. The last of the stories, “The Talla Des Man-Eater,” is the most gripping: Corbett unexpectedly comes upon three tigers resting in a field. He is able to kill two of them and wound the third. The wounded tiger, he learns, is the mother of the two “cubs” he slew. But he wasn't just a hunter--he was also a conservationist! He laments the big cats that must be put down after they become man-eaters and he praises their beauty. Later in life, he published a book of wildlife photography. The oldest national park in India--created to protect endangered tigers--is named after him. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA No. 15-37/2012-NTCA). (2013). Standard operating procedure to deal with emergency arising due to straying of tigers in human dominated landscapes. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. https://hpforest.nic.in/files/STANDARD%20OPERATING%20PROCEDURE%20HUMAN%20TIGER%20CONFLICT.pdf

Customer reviews

The best wilderness book I've read so far!! In ' Man Eaters of Kumaon' , Jim Corbett, an exceptionally talented hunter, writer , and in his later years a conservationist, gives us the blood-chilling, frightening , and highly exciting experiences and encounters with the furious wild, while he was hunting the 'Man-Eating' tigers of the Indian forests.

Living in a 21st century modern state where the largest predator i know lives 2 hours away, i found the premise difficult to comprehend: how could people even encounter a tiger if they are working in their fields near their homes?? But Corbett paints a beautiful picture of small Indian villages nestled in the hills and valleys of the Himalayas in the 20s and 30s - where firearms are scarce and people work fully immersed in nature. I read a little about Corbett on the internet and came to know that though he was a regular hunter, he turned into a conservationalist and a naturalist. While reading the book, I came across quite interesting passages like Corbett describing tigers as a beautiful and a proud animal. He had never looked at a tiger with hate or disgust. He had utmost love for the animal and it pained him when anyone used the phrase "blood thirsty as a tiger". He had no doubt killed a lot of tigers and for me that is kind of unforgivable but I cannot ignore that he was the same guy who took to lecturing groups of schoolchildren about their natural heritage and the need to conserve forests and their wildlife.It is clear from the very beginning, how much Corbett loves the wilderness and all the incredible wild animals. But he finds himself in a very uncomfortable situation, when he has to decide whether he should save the lives of the helpless villagers who are frightened to death by the 'Man-Eating' tigers and are living their lives, afraid of every sound or movement outside their house, or whether he should leave them at the mercy of the Tigers, that develops a taste for human flesh because of certain factors and conditions ( Corbett explains several of the reasons for tigers or leopards becoming Man-Eaters. 1- When a tiger is wounded so badly from some fight between other tigers or animals, or from a Hunter's gun that didn't kill it but wounded it badly, or from some accident that happened while it handles it's prey - Eg. The most common and fatal of this type is injury from Porcupine quils. In all above circumstances, the tiger is handicapped and so it is impossible for it to catch it's normal prey, so it resorts to the easiest prey nearby- Humans! 2.- When a tiger accidentally happens to get to eat the abandoned corpses of the people the died during an epidemic. But when the epidemiy is over , the tiger suddenly finds it's supply of easy food cut out. So it frequents the nearby villages ( mostly at night) and kills people. In their normal and healthy condition, Tigers or Leopards don't see humans as a prey. )

Gillespie, G. (2007). The empire’s eden: British hunters, travel writing, and imperialism in nineteenth-century Canada. In J. L. Manore & D. G. Miner (Eds.), The culture of hunting in Canada (pp. 42–55). UBC Press. Corbett, J. (2015b [1954]). The temple tiger and more man-eaters of Kumaon (39th imp.). Oxford University Press. Derrida, J. (2008). The animal that therefore I am (ML Mallet, Ed. &. D. Wills, Trans.). Fordham University Press. I don't have too much to say about this one, because the title is extremely appropriate. It's very much just more of Man-Eaters of Kumaon. If you enjoyed Corbett's earlier book, as I did, and just want more of that, it absolutely delivers. I think on the whole, having now read both of these and The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag, that I prefer the later and its more in depth account of a single hunt, but there's not much in it, and I enjoyed this collection of shorter tales as much as I did Corbett's first book.Corbett’s pursuit of this wounded animal, is both dramatic and disturbing. Though he is as wounded and handicapped as the tiger he hunts, yet he perseveres: out of love, out of duty, out of respect and reverence for the life he must take. Twenty-five years later, when he writes the story, he says “. . . time does not efface events graven deep on memory’s tablets, and the events of the five days I spent hunting the man-eating tiger of Talla Des are as clear-cut and fresh in my memory today as they were twenty-five years ago.” This book was a little difficult for me to rate. The prime reason being that I am absolutely in love with tigers. I have seen a lot of documentaries on tigers and have enjoyed it thoroughly. Shresth, S. (2009). Sahibs and shikar: Colonial hunting and wildlife in British India, 1800-1935. (Doctoral Dissertation). Duke University Libraries. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/handle/10161/1647. One of the more interesting aspects is why tigers become man-eaters. Man is easy prey for a tiger, but generally they stay well away from humans. It is only when injured and unable to hunt their natural game that they turn to the easy meals. "The wound that has caused a particular tiger to take to man-eating might be the result of a carelessly fired shot and failure to follow up and recover the wounded animal or be the result of the tiger having lost his temper while killing a porcupine." Porcupine quills are very brittle and once embedded in a tigers leg will heal over then fester and cause a lot of pain and discomfort. This effects their demeanour as well as ability to hunt. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). (2019). Standard operating procedures and tiger safari guidelines: (u/s 38 (O) of wildlife (protection) act, 1972). Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India. https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/app/webroot/img/document/legislations/NTCA-SOP_guidelines.pdf

Foucault, M. (2003). “Society must be defended”: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1975-76 (A. I. Davidson, Ed. & D. Macey, Trans.). Picador. Birke, L. (2002). Intimate familiarities? Feminism and human-animal studies. Society and Animals, 10(4), 429–436. A man-eating tiger is a tiger that has been compelled, through stress of circumstances beyond its control, to adopt a diet alien to it. The love the author has for this country, it's people, and the flora and fauna that fill it, lie behind every single word he's written. From the only chapter not involving a tiger hunt: The Bachelor of Powalgarh: The exciting tale of how Corbett shot the much sought after trophy tiger (non man-eater) in 1930.Fish of my Dreams: Corbett reflects on the joys of fishing for Mahseer (Indian river trout) in submontane rivers. Hudson, L. (2011). A species of thought: Bare life and animal being. Antipode, 43(5), 1659–1678. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2011.00901.x Pandian, A.S. (2001). Predatory care: The imperial hunt in Mughal and British India. Journal of Historical Sociology, 14(1), 79–107. Sein Leben muss unglaublich abenteuerreich gewesen sein und hätte definitiv ein besseres Buch verdient.