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The Champawat tiger is thought to have killed 436 people in Nepal/India in the decade around the turn of the last century- I was surprised to be unfamiliar with this. The author references other famous predators- the shark that inspired JAWS in 1916 NJ & the Tsavo lions (housed here in Chicago) but doesn‘t delve into why this tiger doesn‘t have the same notoriety. There‘s some socio-political background & it‘s a quick listen with grisly scenes!

3.5/5 - I struggled w this at times. Approximately the first half of the book was mostly background with the history of the tiger in Nepali and Indian culture. It was informative, but many times I found myself thinking “I‘m here for the tiger hunt, are we going on the tiger hunt?” The book did well in explaining that the attacks on humans by the Champawat and other tigers were greatly due to deforestation and tigers losing their typical prey.

Powell‘s is having a summer reading challenge, and with each entry, they ask for a short review of one of your reads. Today, their mass email contained reader reviews and, can you believe it, I made the cut! That‘s my review from their email!! I‘m famous! (Ok, not really, but absurdly delighted.)🤩🥳😬😂

From 1900-1907, over 400 people in India and #Nepal were killed and eaten by a tigress. Tigers usually avoid people, but a confluence of (human-made) events led to this. This book tells the story of the region, how it was changing to precipitate these events, and the ultimate hunting of the tiger. It‘s really good.

#ReadingAsia2021

Amazing tiger facts:

•A tiger‘s growl is 114 decibels. 😲
•Tigers usually avoid humans. (Smart!)
•When a tiger attacks while hunting, it mainly uses it‘s mouth, biting the neck for a rapid kill. When it attacks while feeling threatened, it primarily slashes with it claws. 🐅

This book is fascinating!

I really loved this book. It not only goes into the hunt for this man-eating tiger itself, but also highlights the conditions under which such tigers turned to man hunting as a means of finding prey, such as deforestation and sport hunting. The man at the center of this hunt, Jim Corbett, is wrapped up in both worlds, and ends his life dedicated to helping preserve the tiger and it's habitat. This was well researched.

#nature #tiger #tigers

I‘ve had this forever but luckily my library is closed for a stay-at-home order so I don‘t have to take it back and it‘s waaay overdue! But I think I‘ll try again while I have it.

#MagnificentMarch - Wildlife on the Cover: This is from the Publisher's Summary:
American Sniper meets Jaws in this gripping, true account of the deadliest animal of all time, the Champawat Tiger - responsible for killing more than 400 humans in Northern India and Nepal in the first decade of the 20th century - and the legendary hunter who finally brought it down.

Though deadly, he sure is ‘pretty‘ in this picture!

No Beast So Fierce recounts the dangerous hunt for a tiger that killed more than 400 people in Nepal and India in the early 1900s.

Though parts of the book are gripping, there were too many places where the author seems to be basing the storytelling on assumptions rather than historical sources. (“Surely, he would have felt...” / “Next, the tiger likely...”)

#audiobook #nonfiction #audio #soso #2019reads

One tiger, 436 kills at the turn of the 20th century. The premise had me hooked, but the author got caught up in all of his research and the incredible real events get lost in an onslaught of historical detail about colonialism. There are some thrilling passages and it was all interesting, but a book with this subject matter shouldn‘t be as boring as it often was.

A tale that wonderfully illustrates one of the many reasons that nature conservation is so important.