CHAMPAWAT tigress: The most dangerous tiger in history

The Bengal tiger, commonly found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and southern Tibet, features orange-yellow fur with distinctive brown-black stripes. White Bengal tigers are a unique rarity among them.

Tigers of this classification inhabit a variety of habitats such as grasslands, scrub forests, tropical and subtropical rainforests, and mangrove forests. While being the most widespread type of tiger, their population is dwindling, putting them at risk of extinction.

Male Bengal tigers typically stand at 1 meter tall, weigh between 180kg to 300kg, and measure 2.7 to 3.65 meters in length, including the tail. In comparison, female tigers are around 75cm tall, weighing from 110 to 200kg, and measuring 2.1 to 2.8 meters long.

The tiger serves as the national symbol for Bangladesh and India. However, in the early 20th century, it instilled fear among those living on the India-Nepal border and gained notoriety as the deadliest predator among all tigers in history. Its ferociousness and cleverness prompted the military to intervene and eliminate the man-eating creature for the first time ever.

For centuries, tigers and humans coexisted peacefully in the fertile lowlands near the Himalayas. Renowned in mythology and religion, these animals are adept at hunting prey like deer, prompting locals to steer clear of them.

The arrival of the British brought about significant changes. During the mid-19th century, India and Nepal, under British colonial rule, became territories targeted by the British for financial gain. The alteration of lands has disrupted the tiger's natural habitat, bringing them into closer proximity with human populations.

To deal with this situation, the British offered bounties to hunters who slaughtered tigers. As a result, from 1875 to 1925, about 80,000 tigers were slaughtered. There were countless cases of tigers being injured and not being hunted. When preyed upon by quick-witted prey, they turn to target slower creatures and once they have tasted human flesh, they will just turn to hunt humans, which is why the Champawat man-eating tiger appeared. presently

The tale starts in the early 1900s in Nepal, where a hunter wounded a female tiger, causing her to lose two teeth. Unable to hunt effectively in her injured state, the tiger resorted to preying on easier targets like domestic animals and humans. This period coincided with a significant decrease in the local population, with many individuals mysteriously vanishing and some being discovered in a gruesome state. The surge in human attacks instilled widespread fear, leading some to speculate about the existence of supernatural beings.

The rumors of ghosts faded away until the truth emerged that a female Bengal tiger was behind the attacks. With the death toll reaching 200, numerous hunters were brought in to attempt to take it down, but the tiger proved elusive, concealing itself adeptly from view.

The Nepal government ultimately had to deploy the army to search for the elusive animal. A sizable group of around a thousand people scoured the area for the tiger, creating loud sounds to lure it out. Despite their advanced training, the soldiers were unable to trace this perilous creature, their only option being to prompt it to relocate.

The tiger exited its territory, crossed the Sarda River along the Indian border, and proceeded to cause havoc in Champawat.

In this scenario, the female tiger persists in attacking and causing fatalities among individuals. The higher the number of human casualties, the more heightened its aggression and alertness. It even transitions to hunting during daylight hours, moving closer to residential zones and roaming through villages boldly.

The book "Deadly Animals: Savage Encounter Between Man and Beast" recounts an incident where a tigress unexpectedly pounced on a young girl in the vicinity, pulling her into the forest as she screamed for assistance, her hair and legs trailing on the ground.

People refrained from going out to work for many years due to the continuous sound of the tiger's roar coming from the forest. Some individuals even moved to nearby villages.

In this area, the tigress was responsible for the deaths of approximately 236 more peoples, increasing the total death toll to 436 people over an 8-year period. Subsequently, it became recognized as the Champawat tigress.

The government has offered a substantial reward to anyone who can eliminate the tiger due to its terrifying behavior and ruthless habits. Despite numerous attempts by hunters, the tiger's cunning enabled it to evade capture. Eventually, they sought the assistance of hunter and colonel Jim Corbett.

The Corbett family was among the earliest British settlers in India. Jim, having grown up in India, had a good understanding of the jungle, which proved beneficial when confronting the dangerous beast. He gained significant renown in India and was known as the individual who took down the aggressive male leopard responsible for the deaths of almost 400 peoples in Pana province, India.

Eager to track down tigers, he roamed the jungle for several days without success. Eventually, in 1907, reports of a recent murder victim emerged, providing him with valuable information. The victim was a teenage girl of about 16 years.

Jim tracked the path from the girl's residence into the forest, uncovering her necklace amidst a pool of blood and scattered hair in the undergrowth, along with other remnants of the victim strewn as litter in the woodland. This unnerved even a seasoned hunter such as him. Shortly after, a tigress emerged, perched on a nearby precipice. Jim aimed his firearm, causing the predator to flee. He pursued it relentlessly, yet as dusk approached, he remained unsuccessful in his endeavors. He was compelled to retreat to the village to avoid becoming its next prey.

The following day, he devised a strategy to eliminate the tiger. By enlisting 300 villagers to generate loud sounds, the goal was to entice the tiger out of hiding and steer it towards a rocky mountainside. While the men played drums to create a commotion, the tiger emerged a short distance away and charged towards the

Jim fired two shotgun bullets but missed. He then switched to a rifle but missed again. When the tiger was close, he hit it twice in the stomach but it kept advancing. Eventually, a shot to the leg brought the tiger down. The villagers cheered at the sight of the fallen tiger.

The female tiger killed a total of 436 individuals and was acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the deadliest creature in global history. No other animal has claimed as many lives. Certain zoologists suggest that humans' destruction of the natural environment is to blame for the tigress's behavior. It is human actions that have led the tigress to exhibit such

Jim gained fame through the mentioned accomplishment. Along with engaging in 30 additional expeditions to track down leopards and tigers, creatures that posed a threat to humans. Subsequently, Jim took a stand against the random slaughter of animals out of concern for the potential extinction of tigers and lions. This led him to dedicate his life to capturing wildlife through photography. Furthermore, he played a role in establishing a nature reserve in the region to advocate for animal welfare and the preservation of wildlife habitats. In 1955, Jim passed away, and the nature reserve was renamed in his honor.