Jim Corbett vs. The Maneater of Champawat

In the early 1900s, the Himalayan foothills of India were terrorized by a mysterious predator - the Maneater of Champawat. This fearsome tigress was responsible for an estimated 436 deaths, preying on unsuspecting humans and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

A newspaper clipping of 'The Maneater of Champawat' Source; Wikipedia

In the early 1900s, the Himalayan foothills of India were terrorized by a mysterious predator—the Maneater of Champawat. This fearsome tigress was responsible for an estimated 436 deaths, preying on unsuspecting humans and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. The story of the Champawat tigress is both fascinating and haunting. What drove this majestic animal to turn to humans as her prey? How did she manage to evade capture for so long? And who was the hunter who finally brought her down?

The answer to these questions, one needs to move past the actual place of the Champawat. The Tigress's story started somewhere else entirely. It began in Nepal in the late 1890s. During that time, hunters were targeting tigers as trophies. However, not every tiger the hunters shot died; some survived with injuries. Legend has it that the Champawat maneater was shot in the face, which left her with broken upper and lower canine teeth on the right side. As a result, she could no longer hunt her natural prey. So, she started targeting easier prey—humans. And thus, the legend of the maneater began.

It is unclear when the Champawat maneater began attacking humans in Rupal village in Western Nepal. But soon, villagers noticed a sudden increase in the number of people disappearing in the forest and surrounding areas. The attacks were unusually frequent, so much so that the villagers believed there was more than one maneater responsible. Several attempts to hunt the tigress were made, but she proved to be more intelligent and cunning than any tiger the villagers had encountered before. As time passed, the kill counts piled on. Eventually, there were 200 confirmed deaths. It was around this time the Nepal Army decided to take matters into their own hands. As a result, even though they could not kill the animal, with some help from hunters and local volunteers, they successfully pushed the man across the river Sarda into the Indian side.

The Champawat maneater continued to prey on humans in her new territory in India, with most attacks occurring during the day. Her victims were predominantly women or young girls who ventured into the forest or its periphery to collect fodder for their cattle. Despite repeated attempts to hunt her down and lucrative rewards offered to ensnare her, the tigress proved to be elusive. She moved long distances at night, traveling between villages and forests after each kill, outsmarting those who sought to end her reign of terror.

On the other hand, Jim Corbett, the man who slayed the demon of Champawat, was just a rookie with zero kills at the time. In 1907, he was approached by a high-ranking British official, who was also his friend. The personnel didn't just hire him as a friendly gesture; he had faith in Corbett's understanding of the forests and the animals, as well as his efficiency with guns. When Corbett was invited to hunt down the Champawat maneater, he accepted the invitation on two conditions. Firstly, he refused the bounty offered, stating that he did not wish to hunt for money. Secondly, he demanded that all other hunting parties be called off. After his terms were met, Corbett began his pursuit of the maneater. He started in the village of Pali, where the tigress had claimed her 435th documented human victim. During Corbett's pursuit, the Champawat maneater claimed another victim—a woman collecting firewood. Corbett followed the blood trail into the forest, encountering the tigress for the first time, who didn't hesitate to charge at him. Corbett was fast enough to fire a shot but not enough to aim it well, so he missed the maneater. However,  the gunshot spooked the tigress, causing her to retreat into the forest, after which Corbett returned to the village, unharmed.

Later, accompanied by a local tehsildar, Corbett devised a plane to draw out the tigress by using loud beating noises around her hiding grounds; and it worked like magic. The tigress did come out as Corbett expected. However, she wasn't as easy to kill. It took multiple shots and a healthy dose of luck for the hunter to put an end to the fierce tigress finally. For this feat, Corbett was pushed up to celebrity status. He was in high demand all across the country to kill maneaters with similar pasts. And though he did kill them, the irony of the whole situation wasn't lost on him. As The Hindu notes:

"In his old age, Corbett regretted shooting man-eaters and organising hunting expeditions for the British royalty. He became an arch-conservationist. But it was too late, the damage had already been done. During the Champawat tiger’s reign, India had close to a lakh tigers. By the time Corbett left India for Africa, around Independence, their number fell to 4,000."