Jim Corbett, Master of the Jungle

These are riveting, true-life tales of the legendary Jim Corbett and the man-eating tigers and leopards he tracked and killed in India in the early part of this century.

Jim Corbett: A legendary hunter defined by heroic deeds.
Hi! I'm Tim Werling, author of "Jim Corbett, Master of theJungle," published by Safari Press.

As you know, nature is a dichotomy. It can be serene and beautiful, or it can be savage and ruthless. In this day and age, we are more familiar with the pleasant aspects of nature. Occasionally, we are reminded of nature's fury through weather-related catastrophes such as hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, etc. Even attacks on humans by predatory animals are becoming a rare phenomenon, especially in the more modern, industrialized countries. But these incidences are few, and the attacking culprit is normally captured or destroyed.

During the period when Jim Corbett lived in India, many large predatory cats (tigers and leopards) had become man-eaters, altering their diets from natural prey to human flesh. Corbett believed this anomaly resulted from injury or old age, which precluded the carnivores from chasing down their normal prey. Nevertheless, when these animals began killing and eating humans, they did so with wanton abandon until they were destroyed or died of natural causes. Two man-eaters that Corbett destroyed had each killed over 400 humans before he was able to bring them to justice! We often hear the expression, "keeping the wolf away from the door." But imagine the stark terror of trying to keep an enraged, ravenous tiger or leopard from forcibly entering your dwelling to attack and devour you. Many people succumbed to such horror during the early 1900s in India.

Corbett, a British citizen, was a humble and simple man, who was born and raised in poverty in Northern India. He learned to hunt and fish at an early age in order to put meat on the table. He was taught jungle skills and survival techniques by a notorious Indian poacher, and received a first-hand education of nature's wild. Corbett was very sympathetic and generous to India's poor and underprivileged, as well as deeply patriotic, serving the Crown whenever the opportunity arose. But, what made Jim Corbett famous was his unique ability to successfully track and destroy man-eaters. Many times throughout his lifetime, Corbett volunteered to go after these fearsome predators, endangering his own life for no other reason but to rid the countryside of a terrible menace which was causing horrifying human carnage and immeasurable terror. Corbett himself estimated his chances of returning home alive from these hunts at 50-50, and yet he refused to accept any bounty the government had placed on the man-eater.

Jim Corbett was indeed every inch a hero; someone whose life we should all strive to emulate. I hope, when you read this book, you will come away with the same admiration and respect for Jim Corbett that I have. In my quest to place the reader in Corbett's shoes while tracking these beasts, I have added some scenes which are graphic and gory. While realistic, some of these scenes may not be suitable for small children. Therefore I caution parents to screen the material before allowing their children to read the book.

Lastly, I would like to point out that this is a creative nonfiction story, based on actual events, but embellished to make the story more enjoyable. My objective was to provide Corbett followers with something new to read about their icon, as well as to encourage others to read Corbett's own books about his thrilling adventures. For those who wish to read factual accounts of Jim Corbett's life and times, I recommend they obtain a copy of "Carpet Sahib," by Martin Booth; "Jim Corbett of Kumaon," by D.C. Kala; or "Jim Corbett's India," by R.E. Hawkins. Thank you.

Best regards,

Tim Werling